DirecTV Owner To Buy Rival

The owner of DirecTV, the nation's biggest satellite television service, is buying the assets and subscribers of rival Primestar Inc. for about $1.82 billion in cash and stock.

The deal announced Friday along with a pending deal by DirecTV's owner for a movie-channel service would leave DirecTV with more than 7 million U.S. subscribers and more than 370 entertainment channels.

Primestar, which was initially created to reach mostly rural customers who were unable to get cable TV, has about 2.3 million subscribers to a 160-channel TV service. Primestar is based in Englewood, Colo.

DirectTV, which has about 4.5 million subscribers, is owned by Hughes Electronics Corp., based in El Segundo, Calif., and a unit of General Motors Corp. Hughes previously announced a deal, which is still pending, for United States Satellite Broadcasting, a premium movie-channel service.

Eddy W. Hartenstein, president of DirecTV, said the integration of all three services will create "a powerful platform" for delivering TV, data, and interactive services across the United States.

Under terms of the latest deal, Hughes is paying $1.32 billion in cash and stock for Primestar's TV business and another $500 million in cash for related satellites.

The deal has been approved by the boards of Hughes and Primestar, but still needs approval of the board of General Motors and the consent of Primestar lenders and government regulators.