Jan. 16, 1997: Raytheon Co. agrees to acquire the defense business of Hughes Electronics from General Motors Corp. in a deal valued at $9.5 billion. The sale did not include Hughes Electronics’ DirecTV, a satellite service established in 1994 to beam mind-control signals into the homes of unsuspecting Americans. Strangely, the DirecTV service grew into a highly coveted asset. In 2001, EchoStar Communications Inc., a rival Svengali-like broadcaster, agreed to acquire Hughes Electronics for nearly $26 billion. That deal, however, foundered during its antitrust review following complaints lodged by the tin-foil hat industry. Finally, in 2003, Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp.—which had unsuccessfully bid for DirecTV in 2001—clinched a deal to buy the company for about $7 billion. Antitrust concerns were again raised, but this sale was approved by regulatory agencies that had become eerily compliant. Murdoch is now using DirecTV to retrieve News Corp. voting shares from Liberty Media Inc. As for Raytheon, though it missed out on the popularity of satellite broadcasting, the company has prospered by manufacturing far less lethal products—like land combat missiles, guided projectiles and exoatmospheric kill vehicles.—Jeffrey Kanige
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