AT&T reportedly struggling to sell DirecTV at anything but a huge loss

Enlarge / AT&T corporate offices on November 10, 2020 in El Segundo, California. (credit: Getty Images | AaronP/Bauer-Griffin)

AT&T is disappointed in the $15 billion offers it has received for DirecTV and has "told prospective bidders it may cancel the auction altogether if it doesn't get better offers," the New York Post reported yesterday, citing "sources close to the situation."

AT&T began seeking a buyer for the struggling satellite division months ago. In October, news reports said that first-round bids valued DirecTV at about $15.75 billion, and AT&T apparently hasn't been able to get better offers in subsequent auction rounds. On December 9, The Wall Street Journal reported that the latest bids valued DirecTV "at more than $15 billion including debt." (The actual sale price could be less than $15 billion, as AT&T apparently intends to retain a stake in DirecTV.)

Top bidders included investment firms Churchill Capital and TPG. "Apollo Global Management, long seen by many as the front-runner, submitted a bid valuing the business at less than $15 billion," the Journal wrote, citing its own anonymous sources. The Journal said the auction is in a late stage and that a sale agreement could be reached in early 2021.

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