Report: DirecTV Interested in Vivendi’s Brazilian Business

68

DirecTV reportedly is among several companies interested in acquiring Brazilian phone and Internet service operator GVT, sources told Bloomberg News on Tuesday.

The El Segundo company, which is the largest U.S. satellite TV provider and has a growing Latin America business, declined to comment. The report said that the company is among those likely to be given access to GVT’s financial data in order to evaluate a potential bid. GVT, which is owned by French conglomerate Vivendi SA, is a São Paulo carrier operating in Brazil’s southern, mid-western and northern regions.

DirecTV has seen its growth slow in the United States, and has been looking to underpenetrated pay-TV and Internet service markets in other countries. Last quarter the company saw a first-ever decline in U.S. subscribers even as subscribers grew by 36 percent in Latin America, where it operates in Brazil, Mexico, and six other countries.

DirecTV shares closed down 74 cents, or nearly 2 percent, to $53.44 on the Nasdaq.