Satellite TV service Dish Network is in talks to merge with wireless provider T-Mobile, the Wall Street Journal reported late Wednesday.
Such a merger, should it become a reality, would join two already large telecom companies. Satellite TV provider Dish Network has a market capitalization of about $35 billion and counts nearly 15 million TV subscribers, while T-Mobile’s market camp is around $31 billion with nearly 45 million retail customers. Dish is the country’s second-largest satellite TV provider, while T-Mobile is the country’s fourth-largest wireless carrier.
Combining the two companies solves problems for both sides. Satellite TV carriers need partners to offer wireless service, although Dish has spent more than $13 billion acquiring wireless licenses over the years. T-Mobile could take advantage of those licenses to build out its wireless network and take on larger rivals, such as AT&T and Verizon.
According to early reports, both Dish’s Charlie Ergen and T-Mobile’s John Legere — two of the country’s more outspoken CEOs — would share the leadership of the new company with Ergen becoming company chairman and Legere CEO.
Specific terms of the deal, such as the all-important question of purchase price, are still being hammered out.
Should the deal proceed, it would fall in line with some other large telecom mergers that are in progress, including Charter Communication’s acquisition of Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks and AT&T’s purchase of Dish rival DirecTV.
Both Dish and T-Mobile have experienced big deals falling apart. Dish at one point tried to join forces with DirecTV, but regulators shook their heads. Dish also tried to buy Sprint, but was outmaneuvered by Soft Bank. T-Mobile had planned to join with Sprint, but regulators also indicated that they planned to block that deal.
Read More: The Wall Street Journal, Re/Code
Brief Take: Dish + T-Mobile should be able to pass regulatory muster, because the two businesses do not intersect, but whether the companies’ two brash CEOs can work together to lead the new entity remains to be seen.
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