According to press reports, AOL Time Warner has sold its 8.4% stake in Hughes Electronics, the parent company of DirecTV.
The
Wall Street Journal claims that a $800 million deal has been brokered with the Bank of America which is expected to sell the shares on the open market. Hughes is a subsidiary of the General Motors Corporation.
There is speculation that the sale could spark interest from Rupert Murdoch who is thought to have designs on the US satellite TV market but this has so far been played down by News Corp insiders.
AOL, which announces fourth quarter results later today, said that the sale would help to ease debts thought to be in the region of $26 billion. The company is set to focus back on old media now that Dick Parsons has agreed to become chairman and chief executive of the board (see AOL Time Warner Puts Faith In Old Media).
