AT&T Inc.
received bids for its DirecTV unit valuing the satellite-TV service at more than $15 billion including debt, according to people familiar with the matter, as the widely watched auction winds toward a resolution.
Among those submitting bids above that level was
Churchill Capital Corp. IV,
a blank-check company run by former banker
Michael Klein,
the people said.
Apollo Global Management Inc.,
long seen by many as the front-runner to buy DirecTV, submitted a bid valuing the business at less than $15 billion, some of the people said.
The auction is in a late stage and should the company reach a deal with one of the suitors, it could be completed by early next year.
—Miriam Gottfried contributed to this article.
Write to Cara Lombardo at cara.lombardo@wsj.com and Drew FitzGerald at andrew.fitzgerald@wsj.com
