DirecTV scrapping DISH merger | Fox Business [Video]

DirecTV says it is walking away from its planned acquisition of EchoStar’s video distribution service, DISH DBS, after DISH bondholders rejected a debt exchange offer from the satellite TV provider.

“A successful exchange was a condition for acquiring the DISH video business,” a DirecTV spokesperson said Wednesday in a statement to FOX Business. “Given the outcome of the EchoStar exchange, DIRECTV will have no choice but to terminate the acquisition of DISH by midnight on November 22.”

DirecTV announced in September it would pay $1 for DISH DBS, which means it would own DISH TV and Sling TV, and agreed to assume $9.75 billion of DISH’s debt in the deal.

However, a group of DISH bondholders on Monday rejected the proposed debt-exchange offer from DirecTV that was contingent upon them accepting a “haircut” of $1.5 billion.

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