Well established as a partner with Sullivan & Cromwell, LLP, in Los Angeles, Eric Krautheimer provides M&A law services to diverse corporate clients. Eric Krautheimer has engaged with AT&T in numerous high profile transactions, including its 2015 $49 billion acquisition of DirecTV. As reported in USA Today, the largest obstacle to the acquisition was Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approval, which involved a year of in-depth review.

1. Eric Krautheimer

2. Introduction
 Well established as a partner with Sullivan & Cromwell,
LLP, in Los Angeles, Eric Krautheimer provides M&A law
services to diverse corporate clients. Eric Krautheimer has
engaged with AT&T in numerous high profile transactions,
including its 2015 $49 billion acquisition of DirecTV. As
reported in USA Today, the largest obstacle to the
acquisition was Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) approval, which involved a year of in-depth review.
AT&T stands as America’s second-largest wireless carrier
and also maintains a U-Verse brand that encompasses
Internet, pay TV, and phone services. Its strategy in
purchasing DirecTV was to bolster its position as a market
leader in the U.S. pay-TV segment.

3. Pay-TV Offerings
 In addition to expanding the business nationwide, it
gave AT&T increased negotiating power when dealing
with cable and broadcast networks. The move also
broadened its offering of bundled packages, such as
the the popular NFL Sunday Ticket, which DirecTV
had developed as part of its satellite-based services.
In obtaining FCC approval, AT&T agreed to a number
of infrastructure upgrades, including an expansion of
fiber Internet connectivity to at least 12.5 million
customers within a four-year period.