DirecTV shareholders sign off on AT&T buyout by big margin

DirecTV (NASDAQ: DTV) shareholders are more than okay with the proposed buyout of the company by AT&T (NYSE: T).

The satellite operator said Thursday that shareholders overwhelmingly approved the merger, with 99 percent voting in favor on a base representing 77 percent of all outstanding company shares.

AT&T announced the proposed $49 billion buyout in May. The deal is still subject to regulatory approval by the Federal Communications Commission, and attorneys general from more than 20 states are studying the competitive impact of the merger before signing off.

AT&T has outlined its goals for the merger--it hopes to not only expand the scale of its U-verse video service, which currently has only around 6 million subscribers, but also program video content for its larger tally of 100 million wireless users.

Pending regulatory approval, the deal is projected to close in the first half of 2015.

For more:
- read this Wall Street Journal story (sub. req.)
- read this DirecTV announcement

Related links:
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