AT&T Inc. on Sunday was set to announce that it is acquiring top U.S. satellite TV operator DirecTV, news website BuzzFeed said, in a deal expected to be worth nearly $50 billion. Neither company made an immediate comment on the report.
The deal will combine the largest U.S. satellite provider and America's No. 2 wireless carrier, expanding AT&T's customer base to 20 million from its U-verse fiber product, which has about 5.7 million video customers and 10.4 million high-speed Internet customers.
The transaction will expand AT&T's reach and allow it to bundle new services, and DirecTV will produce cash flows that could help support the company's dividend.
Yet many investors have still questioned why AT&T, itself facing slowing growth, would buy DirecTV at a time when U.S. satellite TV subscriptions have flattened.