DirecTV to Merge With Majority Stakeholder

Ratings service Standard & Poor’s kept its take on The DirecTV Group Inc. (DTV) unchanged on word that the satellite TV provider will merge with Liberty Media Corp.

The new company will be called DirecTV and consist of DirecTV Group and Liberty Sports Holdings, which owns three regional sports networks, a 65 percent interest in the Game Show Network and FUN Technologies, as well as about $30 million in cash, Standard & Poor’s said.

DirecTV will take on $2 billion of Liberty Entertainment Inc.’s debt, which comes due between 2009 and 2012. Liberty Entertainment has a 54 percent share in DirecTV.

DirecTV and Liberty Media shareholders, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the FCC must approve the deal. The companies expect to complete the transaction in the fourth quarter of this year.

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