AT&T to Sell $6.2 Billion of Debt to Finance DirecTV Spinoff

By Daniel Frankel
( NextTV )
published

Telecom is marketing a combination of junk bonds and leveraged loans

DirecTV
(Image credit: DirecTV)

AT&T is selling $6.2 billion worth of DirecTV Holdings debt in order to finance the spinoff of its linear pay TV assets. 

The telecom is selling $3.1 billion of six-year secured bonds (aka junk bonds) that are set to price Thursday and may yield around 6% to 6.5%, sources close to the company told Bloomberg. 

AT&T is also looking to sell a $3.1 billion six-year leveraged loan that pays about 5.25 percentage points more than the London interbank offered rate, the news service also reports.

The FCC already signed off on the deal, which will see DirecTV, AT&T U-verse TV and AT&T TV spun off into a new entity, with private equity company TPG owning 30%.

AT&T will likely have more updates on the spinoff Thursday when it reports second-quarter earnings. 

Daniel Frankel
Daniel Frankel

Daniel Frankel is the managing editor of Next TV, an internet publishing vertical focused on the business of video streaming. A Los Angeles-based writer and editor who has covered the media and technology industries for more than two decades, Daniel has worked on staff for publications including E! Online, Electronic Media, Mediaweek, Variety, paidContent and GigaOm. You can start living a healthier life with greater wealth and prosperity by following Daniel on Twitter today!