AT&T/Dish merger rumors

[T_N_T]

Anyone/Scott, apparently the merger talks are heating up but how would it all work if it all?

 

[mike123abc]

US HOT STOCKS: Expedia, Chipotle Shares Active In Late Trading - WSJ.com

From the WSJ stock movement digest:

Is AT&T Inc. (T, $28.24, +$0.27, +0.97%) looking to add to its media and telecom empire by making a bid for satellite-TV provider Dish Network Corp. (DISH, $23.49, +$1.31, +5.91%)? Credit Suisse thinks so. Dish Network founder and CEO Charles Ergen, who also heads EchoStar Corp. (SATS, $29.75, +$0.27, +0.92%), has been bulking up in broadband spectrum assets, including an attempt to wrestle control of bankrupt TerreStar Corp. (TSTRQ, $0.13, -$0.01, -6.72%). Credit Suisse says valuable spectrum assets and earnings growth are reasons for AT&T to make a move.

Maybe Charlie is going to make some $$ off the recently acquired spectrum he just got a couple weeks ago. Combined with what he won in the last auction he has the bandwidth for an LTE network.

Then again you could have played a nice game of wack a mole as this rumor has popped up a lot through the years.

 

[JosephB]

Well at one point they wanted DirecTV (rumors, of course) but I suspect DirecTV is a little pricey, plus DirecTV comes with more international baggage than Dish. DirecTV also owns programming whereas Dish doesn't. Add on top of it that Dish doesn't own their STB business, and it makes good sense. Maybe that's what Charlie has been aiming for all along.

 

[T_N_T]

From something I just found a minute ago, it made it sound like AT&T was the one buying out Dish and not the other way around.

I am not playing "wack a mole" at all, Multi-Channel news are the first to break this

http://www.multichannel.com/article/463777-Dish_Stock_Up_on_AT_T_Speculation.php

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

This rumor seems to come up every February.

One of these years it might come true.

 

[mike123abc]

From something I just found a minute ago, it made it sound like AT&T was the one buying out Dish and not the other way around.

I am not playing "wack a mole" at all, Multi-Channel news are the first to break this

Dish Stock Up on AT&T Speculation - 2011-02-10 20:01:50 | Multichannel News

It was not you, I was refering to the analysts that love to start the rumor up over and over. They have always viewed Dish and AT&T as a good fit since:

1. Dish has good contracts with the programming providers, AT&T would be able to leverage these when combined with their Uverse subs
2. AT&T does not have Uverse in a lot of areas, a Dish/AT&T merger would allow AT&T to offer a triple/quadruple play over a lot of the country (mobile/TV/internet/phone).
3. Now Dish has valuable spectrum in the ranges that penetrates buildings well, helping AT&T with LTE

 

[Peter Parker]

There may be more to it this time. And I am a pretty horrible cynic.

 

[digital echo]

Maybe we can see those stupid black covers on the dishes again soon..

 

[Teehar]

On a personal level I hope it never happens.Been with At&T for yrs as they are just about the only high speed isp in these parts.If you think calling dishnetwork is bad try calling or better yet getting something repaired by At&t.ATT=Terrible customer service imho.

 

[Claude Greiner]

The honeymoon between Dish and AT&T was over years ago.

AT&T hates DISH, every oppertunity they get they try to flip customers over to Uverse. I talked to a friend who works for Uverse and they got a warehouse around here with thousands of Homezone 622 receivers.

 

[Jimmerinwi]

Thanks Claude! I had just gotten the 622 Homezone out of my memory bank. You are going to give me nightmares again!!

 

[Juan]

Maybe charlie needs to buy a Vacation Island or something.... on the otherhand everybody seems to want to do a cellular based video service..hence they may want Charlie's (cellular) bandwidth..but who owns those licenses Echostar or Dish?

 

[Voyager6]

I saw this reference to a ATT/Dish merger on the USENET feed yesterday morning.

Will AT&T Bid for DISH? – Credit Suisse

By Notable Calls Feb 10, 2011, 9:30 AM Author's Website

Credit Suisse’s Telco team is making a huge call on Dish Network (NASDAQ:DISH) saying At&T (T) could be looking to buy the company for $39/share (+70%) to gain access to spectrum assets.
Spectrum Assets, EPS Accretion & $4-7b in Synergies: The Argument Is Compelling
Ergen On the Verge . . .
Charlie Ergen could be on the verge of adding great value to his empire of media and telecommunications assets. If Ergen is a) able to get control of both DBSD and TerreStar, and b) the FCC relaxes MSS spectrum regulations, then:
- DISH will have paid ~$1.1BN for an asset that CSFB values at $3-$5bn
- Ergen could combine the DBSD spectrum (20 MHz of MSS spectrum) with the 20 MHz of MSS spectrum that SATS is attempting to acquire via the TerreStar transaction, creating an extremely valuable tranche of contiguous spectrum (40 MHz). This is clearly a case where “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.”
- Credit Suisse believes that AT&T has bid for DISH’s DBS assets in the past. If Ergen is able to pair his spectrum assets with his DBS business of 14mm subs, AT&T might find Ergen’s creation to be an enticing combination.

 

[whatchel1]

I saw this reference to a ATT/Dish merger on the USENET feed yesterday morning.

Hostile take over?

 

[navychop]

Hostile take over?

Impossible, in this case. Vast majority of voting stock is closely held in the Ergen family, and very close friends.

 

[Frank7004]

I'd like to work for AT&T

 

[navychop]

It's deja vu all over again.

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

Febuary is not only known as Black History Month, but also as AT&T Buying DISH Network rumors month.

Maybe we should start printing it on Calendars.

As I said one of these years it might come true.

 

[Hall]

2. AT&T does not have Uverse in a lot of areas, a Dish/AT&T merger would allow AT&T to offer a triple/quadruple play over a lot of the country (mobile/TV/internet/phone).

And that's different than how they offer DirecTV in areas w/o U-Verse today ?

 

[whatchel1]

Febuary is not only known as Black History Month, but also as AT&T Buying DISH Network rumors month.

Maybe we should start printing it on Calendars.

As I said one of these years it might come true.

And what would be the fun in that. We wouldn't get to make the great jokes like we have in this thread.