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EchoStar to buy satellite Internet firm Hughes Communications for $2 billion
Charlie Ergen, chairman of Dish Network and EchoStar, is wheeling and dealing again.
Less than a week after speculation resurfaced about a potential AT&T and Dish merger, EchoStar announced Monday that it will acquire satellite broadband services provider Hughes Communications for $2 billion in cash and assumed debt.
EchoStar makes television set-top boxes and provides satellite video and data distribution services to governments and businesses. Hughes offers high-speed Internet service via satellites to governments, businesses and consumers.
Two weeks ago, Dish disclosed plans to buy bankrupt satellite technology company DBSD North America for about $1 billion. DBSD owns coveted spectrum that could be used for mobile broadband services.
Dish, the nation's No. 2 satellite-TV provider, spun off from EchoStar in 2008. Both companies are based in Douglas County.
The Hughes deal could allow Dish to pair its TV service with an Internet offering. But satellite broadband, which is slower and costlier than wireline broadband, is generally a viable option only for rural areas and communities that don't have access to wireline service.
Instead, Ergen might be focused on bolstering EchoStar's enterprise business.
"There is a unique and compelling fit between Hughes and EchoStar," said EchoStar chief executive Michael Dugan in a statement.
He said the companies' "extensive fleet of owned and leased satellites" will help create a leader in video and data transport.
Credit Suisse analyst Jonathan Chaplin said in a research note last week that AT&T could make an offer for Dish because of its video service and wireless-spectrum assets. But EchoStar's proposed acquisition of Hughes makes such a move "pretty unlikely," said Matthew Harrigan, an analyst at Wunderlich Securities in Denver.
"Charlie wouldn't be making that type of move if he was about to sell," Harrigan said.
The deal for Hughes has been approved by the boards of both companies. Hughes shareholders will receive $60.70 for each share they own. The companies, which had flirted with merging previously, expect the deal to close this year.
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