Acquisitions and divestiture

In addition to mergers and acquisitions, divestiture can be another strategic tool that management can use to increase shareholder's value.  In 2008, Directv gained $160 million by shedding its Puerto Rican operations. This decision was able to help offset some of the losses that shareholders had experienced that year.

A question comes to mind...Should Directv and Dish merge??  According to the FCC in 2002 a merger between the two companies would hurt consumers.  The deal was shot down by The Department of Justice but experts agree that this time around may be a different story.  A problem that I see in this merger is the cost that associated with it for both companies.  The key to these types of deals is that they are done quickly due to both the cost and the time value of money.  I feel that both companies will have to spend large amounts of time and money in litigation trying to get the deal approved by the government.  On the flip side a merger could make the digital cable broadcaster more profitable than they could be in the near future.