 In September 2000, GM executives, under pressure from GM's shareholders as a result of its poor performance and the substantially greater market worth of Hughes, authorized Hughes executives to begin seeking buyers.In 2001, News Corporation began negotiations to acquire Hughes Electronics in a deal worth $8 billion, which would allow News Corp. to expand its Sky Global Networks satellite television operations into the United States.Negotiations with News Corp. ultimately failed, and Hughes entered into an agreement on October 28, 2001 to be purchased for $26 billion by EchoStar, owner of Dish Network.