Murdoch's News Corp Nears DirecTV Deal

Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. Ltd. is to take control of the largest US satellite television provider DirecTV to create a $70 billion global network, industry sources said on Wednesday.

News Corp. and General Motors Corp. have sketched out the main points of a deal that would see Murdoch's Sky Global satellite empire merge with Hughes Electronics Corp., the GM subsidiary that houses DirecTV, the sources said.

Under the terms of the deal under discussion, Murdoch would land an initial stake of 35 percent in the combined company but the media mogul would take charge of running the company and eventually emerge as the largest single shareholder.

Although the deal could still fall apart, one source familiar with the matter said he expected a deal to be reached within the month.

A spokesman for General Motors said on Tuesday no agreement had been reached and that the company remained in talks with a number of people.






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