[Satellite Today – 4-18-08] DirecTV is acquiring 180 Connect Inc., an installation, integration and fulfillment services to the home entertainment, communication and home integration service industries provider, DirecTV announced April 18.
    DirecTV will acquire 100 percent of 180 Connect’s outstanding shares. Prior to the acquisition, DirecTV had outsourced all of its installation service operations through 13 home service provider companies.
    In a separate transaction, DirecTV will trade 180 Connect’s cable services operating unit and certain DirecTV installation services markets with UniTek USA LLC for satellite installation services in New York City, Burbank, Calif., and Bloomington, Calif., and cash. UniTek will acquire 100 percent of the cable services units.
    "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," said Mike Palkovic, executive vice president for operations at DirecTV in a statement. "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 believe we have a great opportunity for growth and to provide an even higher level of service that our customers have come to expect."
    The DirecTV and 180 Connect acquisition is expected to close in the third quarter of 2008, with the UniTek transition completed immediately following. Financial details of the transactions were not disclosed.