DirecTV Group Inc. said Tuesday that it plans to buy back as much as $1 billion of common stock to return cash to investors.

The purchases will be made when funds become available, the El Segundo-based satellite TV provider said. DirecTV already completed a $3 billion buyback a little more than a year ago.

The buyback comes as News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch and John Malone, chairman of Liberty Media Corp., finalize a stock swap that gave Malone control of the satellite TV provider in exchange for his 16.3 percent stake in News Corp.

Shares in DirecTV closed down $1.08, or 4.7 percent, to $21.92 Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange.