Media mogul John Malone has stepped down as chairman of DirecTV and significantly reduced his voting stake in the nation’s largest satellite TV company as part of a reorganization to satisfy regulators.

Chief Executive Michael White has replaced Malone as chairman, the El Segundo company said late Wednesday.

Before DirecTV was combined with several compatible businesses from Malone’s Liberty Media earlier this year, the Federal Communications Commission expressed concern over both companies’ overlapping businesses in Puerto Rico, among other competitive problems.

DirecTV placed its Puerto Rican operations in an ownership trust, but that didn’t satisfy regulators. DirecTV and Malone then worked out a stock swap, which included Malone and other Liberty executives leaving DirecTV’s board.

Malone exchanged 21.8 million of Class B common shares held by himself, his wife and family trusts, for more than 26.5 million Class A shares. That reduced his voting interest in DirecTV from about 24 percent to 3 percent.

Liberty Media Corp. in 2008 acquired a controlling stake in DirecTV from News Corp. Liberty spun off DirecTV in November. Liberty shareholders retained a majority stake in the company, with Malone and two other Liberty executives sitting on DirecTV’s board.

In addition to Malone, Paul A. Gould and Gregory B. Maffei have resigned from the board as a result of the stock swap.

DirecTV Latin America now will be allowed to remove its Puerto Rican operations from the trust. DirecTV said its board approved having Samuel A. DiPiazza, Jr., chairman of the World Business Council on Sustainable Development, join the board as of Thursday.

Shares were down $1.53, or nearly 4 percent, to $37.80 in midday trading on the Nasdaq.