Dish, T-Mobile Merger News: Companies Reportedly Setting Up Talks For Possible Merger or Partnership
Dish Network and T-Mobile have hinted at combining forces for years. Now, the satellite TV provider and the nation's No. 4 wireless carrier are in early talks for a possible merger, CNET reports.
The two companies are in the early stages of speaking about a merger, according to a report Wednesday by the Wall Street Journal. The possibility of a merger would join other media companies that have agreed to merge.
A combined Dish Network and T-Mobile would give the chairman position to Dish CEO Charlie Ergen. T-Mobile's CEO John Legere would be appointed the company's chief executive, people familiar with the possible deal told the Wall Street Journal.
Dish is the No. 2 satellite TV provider. By joining T-Mobile, Dish would bring its 13.8 satellite TV customers and 591,000 Internet subscribers and combine them with T-Mobile's 39 million customers.
Important details of the deal are still up in the air, such as a purchase price and how much cash and stock would be involved in a possible deal. Any deal could still dissolve without an agreement.
If DIsh and T-Mobile are able to come to an agreement, it would become the latest merger between a TV and communication company. AT&T is in the process of acquiring Dish rival DirecTV in a deal that would be worth $48.5 billion and Charter Communications is in the process of purchasing Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks for $66 billion.
Dish tried in the past to get involved in the wireless industry. In 2013, they tried to acquire Sprint, but Softbank ended up making the deal for $21.6 billion.
T-Mobile's Legere has been interested in a deal with Dish since then.
"When I look at the medium to long term, I'm intrigued by Dish's vision," Legere told CNET at the time.
In January, Dish spent $13.3 billion on spectrum at the Federal Communications Commission's auction. Spectrum is radio frequency used to transmit wireless data. This could be a signal that Dish is trying to build its own wireless network.
Legere is not exactly sure what Dish is trying to do in the wireless industry, but he wants to be a part of it.
"We like what they're doing," Legere said in an interview. "It makes sense to have a discussion."
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