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# AT&T poised to sell stake in DirecTV to TPG: reports

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AT&T poised to sell stake in DirecTV to TPG: reports
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Pay-TV business has been losing money and subscribers

AT&T Inc. is close to a deal to sell a substantial stake of DirecTV to private equity firm TPG, according to reports Tuesday.

CNBC and Bloomberg News reported a deal could be announced this week or next, valuing the DirecTV business, which includes U-Verse and AT&T TV Now, at around $15 billion. That’s just a fraction of the $49 billion that AT&T paid for DirecTV in 2015.

AT&T booked a $15.5 billion write-down on its floundering pay-TV business in January. When it reported fourth-quarter earnings last month, AT&T disclosed it had shed around 3 million subscribers last year across its DirecTV and U-verse platforms, sparking speculation that it would seek to sell the unit.

AT&T Chief Executive Officer John Stankey has reportedly been looking to cut loose underperforming assets to pay down debt, which totals around $150 billion.

AT&T shares
T,
-0.48%
are down about 22% over the past 12 months, compared to a 24% gain by the S&P 500
SPX,
+0.13%
in that time.

Mike Murphy

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