News Corp standing pat on bid for DirecTV

News Corp does not intend to raise its bid to acquire Hughes Electronics, the operator of DirecTV, Bloomberg News reported Saturday, citing people familiar with the media company’s plans. In a report filed from Sydney, the headquarters of the Rupert Murdoch-owned company, Bloomberg also said that it does not plan to make terms of its bid public until after an agreement with General Motors, which owns Hughes, is reached. Last week, analysts speculated that News Corp would be faced with having to top a $31-billion bid by DirecTV rival EchoStar for Hughes. Meanwhile, the London Financial Times reported Monday that General Motors has started formal discussions with EchoStar, a sign, said the newspaper, that GM now takes EchoStar’s offer more seriously.