DirecTV Breaks Free From AT&T From Los Angeles Times Six years after AT&T swallowed DirecTV with ambitious plans to modernize the satellite TV business, the telephone company has retreated, returning DirecTV to its roots as a stand-alone company. On Monday, AT&T completed its spinoff of DirecTV, taking $7.1 billion in cash and 70 percent interest in the new DirecTV. Private equity giant TPG, which contributed $1.8 billion, owns 30 percent of the new privately-held company. The new DirecTV is made up of AT&T’s three TV distribution businesses: the namesake satellite TV service, the legacy U-verse and the streaming offer, AT&T TV. The AT&T brand will be stripped away as part of DirecTV’s efforts to simplify its message and repair its reputation among consumers.