|
PrimeStar may team up yet
|
 |
October 16, 1998: 7:42 a.m. ET
After broken deal with News Corp., satellite TV leader talks with DirecTV
|
NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Two of the nation's largest satellite television companies are reportedly talking about teaming up.
DirecTV has held preliminary discussions about the possible acquisition of PrimeStar Inc., which is controlled by a group of cable companies, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday.
The talks are in the very early stages at this point, the paper said. And some of the cable companies that run PrimeStar are still unsure if they want to exit the satellite business.
Earlier this week, PrimeStar abandoned its planned merger with News Corp. (NWS), citing weak financial markets and a pending suit by the U.S. Justice Department to block the deal.
DirecTV, owned by Hughes Electronics Corp., has expanded its customer base to more than four million in the past year. It has also struck several marketing agreements with regional Bell phone companies.
PrimeStar is jointly owned by TCI (TCOMA), MediaOne Group (formerly known as US West Media Group) (UMG), Cox Communications Inc. (COX), Comcast Corp. (CMCSK) and Time Warner Inc. (TWX) -- the parent of CNNfn. General Electric Co. (GE) also owns a small minority stake.
Should the two companies strike a deal, it would still have to pass antitrust scrutiny. 
-- from staff and wire reports
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
