AT&T Inc. announced today that it has agreed to buy DIRECTV for $67 billion. AT&T plans to fund the $48.5 billion equity purchase price with a combination of cash and stock. We expect the transaction to result in adjusted leverage of around 2.8x, excluding synergies, which is only slightly higher than the company's current leverage. We are affirming the 'A-' corporate credit rating and 'A-2' short term rating on AT&T. The stable outlook is based on our expectation for steady operating and financial performance over the next two years, although the company has limited headroom within the current rating and our "intermediate" financial risk assessment. NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's) May 19, 2014--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services today said it
