AT&T might soon purchase DirecTV

AT&T is poised to announce a takeover of DirecTV Inc. within days, people briefed on the matter said yesterday, ushering in another sweeping transformation of the telecommunications industry.

Though both sides are putting the finishing touches on an agreement, talks still might fall apart, these people cautioned. The proposed agreement still requires final approval from the boards of both companies.

If completed, the acquisition will be worth more than $50 billion, these people said previously. AT&T has anticipated paying between $92 and $94 a share in stock and cash.

Representatives for AT&T and DirecTV declined to comment or were not immediately available for comment.

By buying DirecTV, the country’s biggest satellite TV operator, AT&T would make its biggest move in years to grow at home since its failed $39 billion takeover bid for T-Mobile three years ago.

But such a deal is likely to invite scrutiny from regulators at a time when they already are weighing Comcast’s $45 billion bid for Time Warner Cable, another blockbuster transaction aimed at reshaping the telecommunications industry.

And SoftBank, the Japanese telecom company that controls Sprint, has made no secret of its desire to buy T-Mobile USA, further consolidating the sector.

Several officials of the Federal Communications Commission already have signaled that they would oppose such a transaction, fearing that it would concentrate too much of the wireless industry in three companies.