AT&T is considering selling DirecTV, according to the Wall Street Journal.
AT&T, which owns CNN’s parent company WarnerMedia, is looking into “various options” for DirecTV including a spinoff of the unit, the paper reported. The telecommunications giant is also exploring the option of combining DirecTV’s assets with rival Dish Network, according to the Journal, citing sources.
AT&T declined to comment for this story.
AT&T purchased DirecTV for $49 billion, or $67.1 billion including debt, in 2015. Since then, DirecTV’s subscriber base has shrunk, so much so that it found itself in the middle of an activist shareholder revolt against AT&T’s business strategy.
Elliott Management, an activist hedge fund, released a letter to AT&T’s board last week in which it said that it has taken a 3.3% position in the company and wants to see changes. It specifically called out the DirecTV acquisition in the letter, saying the deal has had “damaging results.”
The Journal also reported that AT&T may “ultimately decide to keep DirecTV in the fold.”
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