DIRECTV REACHES A PRIME DEAL: ACQUIRES PRIMESTAR FOR $1.8B

          Hughes Electronics Corp.'s DirecTV will acquire the
     assets of Primestar Inc. in a $1.8B deal, according to
     Leslie Cauley of the WALL STREET JOURNAL.  The deal, which
     will leave only two major players in the satellite-TV
     industry, will result in DirecTV receiving "a commanding
     lead" over No. 2 EchoStar Communications with seven million
     subscribers compared to EchoStar's two million.  If things
     "go according to plan," DirecTV, "currently unprofitable,
     would be racking up" annual operating profits of $300-400M
     by the end of 2000 (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 1/25).  The deal
     gives DirecTV control of 64% of the home DBS market. 
     Primestar subscribers could move to DirecTV within two years
     (ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 1/23).  VARIETY's Martin Peers writes
     that the deal has run into "problems from bondholders" owed
     by Primestar, as the pact is not giving Primestar enough "to
     cover all its debts" and the company is "offering to repay"
     $730M of bonds at $.67 on the dollar (VARIETY, 1/25).