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Why AQR Capital exits its position in Geo Group Inc.
AQR Capital sold a position in GEO Group Inc. in 2Q14. The company accounted for a 0.0206% position in the fund’s first quarter U.S. long portfolio.

Merger must-knows: The shareholder vote and 90% tender condition
Once the SEC approves the proxy, a vote is scheduled. Usually, the last condition for a deal is the vote of the target shareholders.

What was the key growth driver for AT&T’s wireline segment?
Adjusted revenue from IP-based strategic services grew by 14.3% YoY in 4Q14. Adjusted consumer wireline revenue increased by 2.4% during the quarter.
Why AQR Capital increased its position in Apple in 2Q14
AQR Capital increased its position in Apple from 0.86% in the previous quarter to 1.24% in the fund’s second quarter U.S. long portfolio.

Must-know: Is the Time Warner Cable–Comcast deal a “do?”
Arbs generally avoid utility deals—and for good reason. Typically, the companies have an aggressive expected timeline and these deals don’t close on time.

Renaissance Technologies increases position in DIRECTV
DIRECTV is a provider of digital television entertainment in the United States and Latin America.

How Do Media Networks Make Money?
Media networks face stiff competition for acquisition and distribution of content. Quality and exclusivity add to competition across the media value chain.
Why AT&T’s DirecTV acquisition could be a serious mistake
AT&T will be paying DirecTV $67 billion, which becomes an expensive acquisition when we consider that DirecTV lacks any wireless spectrum.

Cost and Revenue Synergies for AT&T from the DIRECTV Transaction
According to AT&T, the DIRECTV merger is expected to help in bringing down costs associated with operations and general administration, supply chain, and content acquisition.

What Kind of Value Does Verizon See in Quad-Play Services?
Verizon’s (VZ) Marni Walden talked about how the company currently views quad-play offerings.

Update on AT&T’s Cost Synergies after Its DIRECTV Acquisition
During the UBS Global Media and Communications Conference, AT&T’s chief executive officer talked about the cost synergies from the DIRECTV acquisition.

How Atlice’s Acquisition of Cablevision Affects US Cable Industry
The acquisition of Cablevision (CVC) by Altice will create the fourth-largest cable operator in the United States. The US cable industry is already feeling increasing competitive pressure from over-the-top players such as Netflix (NFLX).

AT&T’s DIRECTV Merger and New Cost Synergies
By 2018, AT&T expects multiple cost synergies from the DIRECTV merger in its supply chain, operations and general administration, and content acquisition.

Average Revenue per User Rises for Dish Network in 2Q15
In 2Q15, Dish Network (DISH) ended with 13.93 million pay-TV subscribers—compared to 14.05 million subscribers at the end of 2Q14.

AT&T Gets NFL Sunday Ticket from DIRECTV Deal
The DIRECTV (DTV) merger adds some rich sports content to AT&T’s (T) offerings, including NFL Sunday Ticket and several regional sports networks.

Cost Synergies from AT&T–DIRECTV Merger Are Adding Up
The AT&T–DIRECTV merger agreement was signed in May 2014. At the time, the companies believed the transaction could produce ~$1.6 billion in annual cost synergies.

DIRECTV Deal: Will AT&T Have Stronger Network Bargaining Power?
With the resulting larger subscriber base, the DIRECTV deal gives AT&T stronger bargaining power to negotiate content costs with media networks.

AT&T Dominates the US Pay-TV Market with DIRECTV Transaction
Cable companies dominate the US pay-TV market. With the DIRECTV transaction, AT&T is now the biggest US pay-TV provider.

The ~$67 Billion AT&T–DIRECTV Merger Is Done
The AT&T–DIRECTV merger agreement was originally signed in May 2014. AT&T (T) has finally acquired DIRECTV (DTV) for ~$67.1 billion, including net debt.

Comcast Business Services: A Consistent Driver of Growth
Cable Communications revenue increased by ~6.3% year-over-year to ~$11.4 billion in 1Q15. Revenue from the Business Services subsegment increased by ~21.4% year-over-year to ~$1.1 billion.

Merger must-knows: The typical timeline for a friendly deal
Typically, approaches end up with a deal. Why? The target board of directors has a fiduciary duty to shareholders to get the best price for the company.

Identifying and analyzing a typical cash merger arbitrage spread
What are the components of a risk arbitrage spread? There are a number of factors that figure into a trade. Let’s look at a typical cash deal first.

Merger arbitrage must-knows: A typical stock merger spread
Not all deals are cash deals, however. Often companies will issue stock in lieu of giving cash for a deal. This adds a layer of complication to the process and also some risk factors we need to consider.

DIRECTV Transaction: AT&T Now Expects Higher Synergies
The merger is expected to bring typical synergies to the combined entity. But AT&T now expects more benefits from the DIRECTV transaction than it anticipated.

DIRECTV is New Holding in OZ Management’s Portfolio
OZ Management initiated a new stake in DIRECTV (DTV) by purchasing 3,823,963 shares of the company, representing 0.89% of the fund’s 4Q14 portfolio.

AT&T will provide video on any device
AT&T expects that synergies from the DIRECTV merger, as well as its OTT (over-the-top) content offering, will help it in providing video on any device.

Hospira–Pfizer merger: Benefits from growing biosimilars market
One of the major drivers for the Hospira–Pfizer transaction is the expected growth of the sterile injectables and biosimilar markets.

Why AQR Capital exits its position in Tableau Software Inc.
AQR Capital sold a position in Tableau Software Inc. in 2Q14. The company accounted for a 0.0346% position in the fund’s first quarter U.S. long portfolio.

Why AQR Capital opens a new position in Equinix
AQR Capital initiated a new position in Equinix in 2Q14. The company accounts for a 0.221% position in the fund’s second quarter U.S. long portfolio.
Verizon gains TV subscribers in an otherwise declining industry
Although the pace of growth for Verizon has slowed down a little in the subscription TV market, it still continues to gain subscribers in an otherwise declining pay-TV market.

Strategic rationale for the Time Warner Cable–Comcast deal
On February 12, 2014, Time Warner Cable (TWC) and Comcast (CMCSA) agreed to merge. The two companies provide cable TV and broadband access separate geographic areas.

Why consider possible Integrys–Wisconsin Energy merger scenarios?
In the risk arbitrage world, a 2% spread means a deal without much “hair” on it. The market is assigning a high probability of closing.

Should you get involved in the Integrys–Wisconsin Energy deal?
In merger arbitrage, you’ll generally buy the acquired company’s stock and sell short the acquiring company’s stock. So how will this play out when you look at the Integrys-Wisconsin deal?

Spread analysis: Does the Covidien-Medtronic merger make sense?
To perform merger arbitrage, the investor will generally buy the stock of the company being acquired and sell short the stock of the acquiring company.

Key overview: Merger arbitrage and the Covidien-Medtronic deal
The Covidien-Medtronic deal is a scheme of arrangement, which is an English-style merger where a court has to approve the transaction once the votes are in.

Understanding the rationale for the Covidien-Medtronic transaction
On June 15, 2014, Medtronic (MDT) and Covidien (COV) reached an agreement to merge via a scheme of arrangement. The two companies more or less offer complementary goods.

Merger must-knows: Why the proxy statement is important
If there’s a vote for the deal, the next step will be the release of the preliminary proxy statement. The proxy statement contains all the data in the merger agreement as well as some other important pieces of data.

Merger arbitrage must-knows: A key guide for investors
Merger arbitrage, otherwise known as “risk arbitrage,” is an investment strategy that primarily focuses on mergers and capturing the spreads on announced deals.
Why would AT&T acquire a player in the declining pay-TV space?
We should analyze whether AT&T’s acquisition of DirecTV was a good choice or not—especially when the Pay TV market is undergoing a structural decline.