DirecTV’s Pegasus Buy Is Official

DirecTV Inc.’s acquisition of Pegasus Satellite Television Inc. is a done deal.

A U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge in Portland, Maine, approved the $875 million cash transaction Thursday. The deal was originally announced Aug. 2.

DirecTV said it expects the migration of Pegasus customers to its service to be done in 30-45 days, with no service interruptions.

Pegasus has been reselling DirecTV service primarily in rural areas for years. But the two companies have been embroiled in litigation for the past five years concerning Pegasus’ right to distribute DirecTV programming.

Earlier this year, Pegasus sued DirecTV and the National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative, claiming that the two parties had acted “independently and in concert in an effort to destroy Pegasus.”

Pegasus filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection June 2.

“The completion of this agreement not only gives DirecTV the rights to more than 1 million customers, but it also gives us access to an additional 10 million households in rural areas to whom we can offer the full benefits of DirecTV programming, pricing and service,” DirecTV Group Inc. CEO Chase Carey said in a prepared statement.