AT&T : Enters Late Stage of DirecTV Auction, Fielding Offers Above $15 Billion

By Cara Lombardo and Drew FitzGerald

AT&T Inc. received bids for its DirecTV unit valuing the satellite-TV service at more than $15 billion including debt, according to people familiar with the matter, as the widely watched auction winds toward a resolution.

Among those submitting bids above that level was Churchill Capital Corp. IV, a blank-check company run by former banker Michael Klein, the people said. Apollo Global Management Inc., long seen by many as the front-runner to buy DirecTV, submitted a bid valuing the business at less than $15 billion, some of the people said.

The auction is in a late stage and should the company reach a deal with one of the suitors, it could be completed by early next year.

--Miriam Gottfried contributed to this article.

Write to Cara Lombardo at [e-mail] and Drew FitzGerald at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

12-09-20 1018ET