AT&T Closes $49 Billion DirecTV Buy

AT&T closed its $49 billion acquisition of DirecTV after more than a year of regulatory review, a combination that creates the largest US pay-television company.

For AT&T, the deal is the keystone in its effort to diversify away from the U.S. wireless business, where growth has slowed as market saturation and competition take their toll. DirecTV, which AT&T has said it is considering renaming, will give the carrier more scale in television and provide leverage to offer new video services over-the-top and on mobile devices. “We’re now a fundamentally different company,” said AT&T Chief Executive Randall Stephenson.