(Reuters) – AT&T said on Monday it would sell its 70% stake in satellite television service DirecTV to private equity firm TPG for $7.6 billion, ending a business marked by a decline distributions for the telecommunications operator.
AT&T signed a joint venture agreement with TPG in 2021, which provided about $1.8 billion in cash in exchange for a 30% stake in DirecTV, valued at the time at about $16 billion.
The telecommunications company had agreed not to sell its stake in DirecTV for a period of three years, which expired on July 31.
Selling the stake would allow AT&T to focus on its core wireless and fiber connectivity businesses and help improve its balance sheet.
AT&T would receive an initial payment of $2 billion in 2025 and additional payments through 2029, the company said in a statement Monday.
(Reporting by Deborah Sophia in Bangalore; editing by Shinjini Ganguli)
