News Corporation announced plans to acquire GM’s 19.9% stake in Hughes Electronics and a further 14.1% of Hughes from public shareholders and GM’s pension and other benefit plans, for $6.6 billion in cash and stock. The Hughes assets include DIRECTV, which has more than 11 million subscribers in the U.S.; an 81% equity holding in satellite operator PanAmSat; and Hughes Network Systems, the leading provider of broadband satellite network solutions. At closing, News Corp.’s 34% ownership interest will be transferred to Fox Entertainment Group, an 80.6%-owned News Corp. subsidiary. News Corp. Chairman and Chief Executive Rupert Murdoch will become Chairman of Hughes, while News Corp.’s former Co-Chief Operating Officer, Chase Carey, will be President and Chief Executive Officer of Hughes.
News Corp. and DIRECTV promised to abide by FCC program access regulations, for as long as those regulations are in place. Specifically, News Corp. promised to continue to make all of its national and regional programming available to all multi-channel distributors on a non-exclusive basis and on non-discriminatory prices, terms and conditions. The transaction is subject to a number of conditions, including approval by a majority of each class of GM shareholders and by regulatory authorities.
http://www.hughes.com
- In October 2001, Hughes Electronics and EchoStar Communications and announced plans to merge in a deal valued at $25.8 billion. In October 2002, The FCC voted unanimously not to approve the transfer of licenses from EchoStar and Hughes Electronics Corporation to a new entity, effectively blocking the proposed merger of the companies’ direct satellite broadcast (DBS) services. FCC Chairman Michael Powell said the proposed merger was not in the public’s interest because it would eliminate an existing viable competitor, which he said is especially significant in rural areas of the country not served by cable TV providers.