Dish Deals Made Possible by Exxon-Like Cash: Real M&A

Dish Network Corp. (DISH) Chairman Charlie Ergen has accumulated a record $10 billion in cash, leaving investors to speculate whether he’s setting his sights on a takeover of T-Mobile USA Inc. or a merger with rival DirecTV. 

The satellite-TV service tripled its cash balance during the past year by selling debt, including a $2.3 billion offering last week, amid a planned wireless expansion that already prompted a bid for Clearwire Corp. (CLWR) Ergen’s $16.4 billion company now has the most money among U.S. television and phone providers, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. 

Ergen’s cash stockpile -- about the same as Exxon Mobil Corp.’s -- puts a deal for Deutsche Telekom AG (DTE)’s T-Mobile within reach, said Guggenheim Partners LLC, which would finally let Ergen bundle a nationwide wireless-phone network with his pay-TV system. He may also seek to merge with DirecTV and build a wireless network using spectrum he already owns, according to Standard & Poor’s. Smaller deals, such as snatching MetroPCS Communications Inc. away from Deutsche Telekom or buying Leap Wireless International Inc., are other possibilities, according to Macquarie Group Ltd.

Source: http://cablequest.org/news/international-news/item/2127-dish-deals-made-possible-by-exxon-like-cash-real-m-a.html
Source: http://cablequest.org/news/international-news/item/2127-dish-deals-made-possible-by-exxon-like-cash-real-m-a.html