DirecTV and Dish’s on-and-off merger saga switches back to off

DirecTV has dropped its plans to acquire Dish, the company announced Thursday. The deal would’ve created a TV service megamerger, but it fell through after Dish bondholders rejected the takeover.

“While we believed a combination of DIRECTV and DISH would have benefitted all stakeholders, we have terminated the transaction because the proposed Exchange Terms were necessary to protect DIRECTV’s balance sheet and our operational flexibility,” DirecTV CEO Bill Morrow said in the press release.