DirecTV and Dish’s on-and-off merger saga switches back to off

DirecTV has dropped its plans to acquire Dish, the company announced Thursday. The deal would’ve created a TV service megamerger, but it fell through after Dish bondholders rejected the takeover.

In September, DirecTV reached an agreement to acquire Dish, Sling TV, and EchoStar’s TV business for just one dollar, while also taking on Dish’s $9.75 billion in debt. However, Dish bondholders — or the investors who lend money to a company (and expect to be paid back) — weren’t happy about the decision, as the transaction would’ve cut the value of their holdings by $1.5 billion.

“While we believed a combination of DIRECTV and DISH would have benefitted all stakeholders, we have terminated the transaction because the proposed Exchange Terms were necessary to protect DIRECTV’s balance sheet and our operational flexibility,” DirecTV CEO Bill Morrow said in the press release.

This isn’t the first time a deal between DirecTV and Dish has soured. The Federal Communications Commission blocked a merger between both companies in 2002. The two companies have flirted with the idea of a merger ever since — and they might’ve had a better chance at success this time under the Trump administration.