White: AT&T Deal Unlocks Potential

DirecTV CEO Mike White said his company’s pending merger with AT&T will unlock tremendous growth potential for the satellite giant, even as investors sent shares of both participants southward amid doubts about the benefits of the merger.

While the declines in shares were small, they are in sharp contrast to what usually happens to the seller in such mega-deals -- in contrast, Time Warner Cable stock was up 7% on the day it announced its $69 billion deal with Comcast -- and could point to concerns investors have about the deal outside of potential hurdles to regulatory approval.

White, who will continue to head up the DirecTV unit after the deal closes, said the merger offers the satellite giant an opportunity for growth. And while White and Stephenson wouldn’t mention it by name, it appears that the Comcast/Time Warner Cable merger -- which will create a 30-million-subcriber cable powerhouse -- influenced their decision to seek out a deal.

White also sees a big customer service opportunity in the deal, allowing DirecTV to offer more products in a single truck roll. “To me the real opportunity is growth,” White continued. “For us this is a real unlock, it unlocks our way to better serve rural areas, when you think about the 15 million [customer] build out of rural areas.”