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Murdoch Says DirecTV Progressing
New York (AFP) Feb. 7, 2001 News Corp. chief executive Rupert Murdoch said Wednesday discussions were "progressing" with General Motors and its Hughes Electronics unit, owner of DirecTV, about a possible deal involving the two satellite operators. During a teleconference to discuss the company's second-quarter earnings report, Murdoch told reporters and analysts that he could not comment on the discussions beyond saying that "we have been in talks with GM and Hughes and the talks are progressing." Earlier the company reported earnings per share before special items of 26 cents, above Wall Street estimates. Other News Corp executives during the call said that the company's television unit, which reported a second-quarter decline in operating income to 175 million dollars from 221 million a year earlier, was planning various measures to attempt to boost the unit's profitability. Numerous reports have said News Corp. and other firms are interesting in Hughes because of its popular satellite television DirecTV service.
background report Media mogul Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. is poised to gain control of US satellite-television leader DirecTV in a deal worth some 70 billion dollars, the Financial Times reported on its website late Tuesday. News Corp. and US auto firm General Motors, which controls DirecTV through its Hughes subsidiary, have reportedly reached a tentative agreement, according to FT.com. Insiders were cautious, however, telling the website that the discussions were still not final and that GM was "still talking to more than one party." In the potential agreement, Hughes and News Corp.'s Sky Global Networks satellite division would merge, with Murdoch at the helm as chairman, the site reported. Sky Global's assets would initially represent 35 percent of the company, while Hughes would represent the remaining 65 percent. Hughes's satellite arm, Panamsat, would later be sold for an asking price of 6.5 billion to seven billion dollars, and GM would sell off an estimated eight billion dollars of its share, leaving News Corp. as the largest single shareholder. The media behemoth incorporates Britain's News International, owner of "The Sun" and "The Times"; the 20th Century Fox film company; HarperCollins Publishing; Gemstar-TV Guide International; the Fox Broadcasting Company; and Asia's Star TV satellite broadcasting company, among myriad other outlets. Software giant Microsoft will reportedly invest up to five billion dollars in the venture, becoming a minority shareholder while offering technological expertise, according to FT.com.
related report Rupert Murdoch's satellite broadcaster BSkyB said Wednesday that half-year losses soared to 260.1 million pounds (408 million euros, 377 million dollars) because of extensive investments. But BSkyB, in which Murdoch has a 40-percent stake, said subscriber numbers continued to beat targets, having swelled by a record 538,000 over the period. As of Tuesday, BSkyB had 5.25 million subscribers. Investors, who have bid down BSkyB's share price in recent days ahead of the results statement, sold the company down another 1.7 percent to 1,081 pence. The main fear was the increase in losses in the six months to December, which jumped more than fivefold from 48.6 million pounds in the same period in 1999. BSkyB said the balance sheet slump was due to its increased share of losses at two companies in which it has recently invested heavily: British Interactive Broadcasting Holdings Limited ("BiB") and German pay-TV network KirchPayTV. Revenues rose 28 percent over the six month period to 1.086 billion pounds, BSkyB said. All rights reserved. � 2001 Agence France-Presse. All information displayed on this section (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse. CommunityEmail This Article Comment On This Article Related Links News Corp SpaceDaily Search SpaceDaily Subscribe To SpaceDaily Express The latest information about the Commercial Satellite Industry
Orbcomm's Equity Financings Complete
Bremen, Germany (SPX) Jan 06, 2006OHB Technology affiliated company Orbcomm has announced that it has completed equity financings totaling over $110 million led by Pacific Corporate Group (PCG), which committed $60 million. New investors, in addition to PCG, include investment firms MH Equity Investors and Torch Hill Capital. |
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