DIRECTV made a significant move in the operational side of their business on Friday by agreeing to purchase an independent satellite installer. The company, 180 Connect, based out of Englewood, CO provides contract satellite installation services to DIRECTV across 12 states including 45 U.S. market locations.
DIRECTV agreed to purchase 100% of the outstanding shares of 180 Connect for the ironic share price of $1.80 each. That totals about $46 million bucks. DIRECTV will also assume debt from 180 Connect, pushing the total purchase price up to about $105 million. News of the deal sent 180 Connect shares up more that 70%, closing at $1.68 a share on Friday.
The move signals a shift by DIRECTV in handling their face-to-face interaction with new customers. DIRECTV has always outsourced its installation business, currently having deals with 13 independent satellite installation providers. While the outsourcing has certainly allowing DIRECTV to grow substantially over the years, it has led to problems due to the lack of accountability.
Improving the customer experience was the tone from DIRECTV. In the press release, Mike Palkovic, EVP Operations for DIRECTV stated such:
“The acquisition of 180 Connect enables DIRECTV to gain operational control over a large portion of its installation and service network and is an important part of our effort to continuously improve the customer experience. Our installation technicians are the first and often the only point of face to face contact that a customer has with DIRECTV and this merger underscores the importance we place on this interaction. We welcome 180 Connect’s employees to the DIRECTV family and with its solid base of technicians in the field and strong back-office support, we believe we have a great opportunity for growth and to provide an even higher level of service that our customers have come to expect.”
From that recap, it sounds like everyone is going to live happily ever after in satellite TV world! Seriously, it looks as if DIRECTV may be moving toward more direct contact with their customer base. Was this move already planned or is John Malone starting to make his presence felt at DIRECTV?
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