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Things to do in Denver when your deal’s dead…
Is Charlie Ergen giving up on his wireless plans? An interview with Bloomberg published this morning seemed to signal a change of stance, particularly the explicit suggestion that Ergen would be open...
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No alphabet soup for you?
Over the last 36 hours there has been a constant stream of stories about DISH Network’s negotiations with various players to launch its proposed wireless network, in what appears to be a last ditch...
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Was Phil finally right about something?
No not his assertions that “I still believe that we had a great, and we still do have a great vision” and that “a bankruptcy would not necessarily wipe out the equity holders of LightSquared because...
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It’s complicated…
Today Sprint made an SEC filing stating that it had offered to buy the remaining shares in Clearwire for $2.90 per share, far below the $5+ that some think Sprint will have to pay to buy out the hedge...
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Playing three dimensional chess…
My sources appear convinced that DISH made an informal offer to Clearwire management sometime ago, and that Sprint has been playing catch-up in its recent actions, after assuming for several years...
View ArticlePlan C for Charlie?
Now that DISH’s attempts to bid for MetroPCS and do a deal with Clearwire appear to have been stymied by T-Mobile and Sprint respectively, the obvious question is what is Charlie Ergen’s Plan C? After...
View ArticlePayback time…
So DISH has now made a (preliminary) public offer to acquire up to 100% of Clearwire’s shares at a price of $3.30, as part of a complicated transaction to acquire 25% of Clearwire’s spectrum (11.4B...
View ArticleWho wants what?
In the wake of Dish’s counterbid for Clearwire, most attention has been focused on trying to discern Charlie Ergen’s objective: does he actually want to buy Clearwire or not? Many seem to think his...
View ArticleDid AT&T’s spectrum deep dive dump DISH deal?
The proxy statement filed by Clearwire on Friday morning made for interesting reading, not least in guessing the identity of some of the companies that Clearwire has talked to over the last couple of...
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This year, next year, sometime, never…
The question on everyone’s mind after DISH’s results call on Wednesday is of course “when will Charlie Ergen find a partner” to fulfill his wireless ambitions. Ergen was pretty clear that if DISH’s...
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LightSquared’s Mexican standoff…
According to Wikipedia, “In financial circles, the Mexican standoff is typically used to connote a situation where one side wants something, a concession of some sort, and is offering nothing of...
View ArticleWhat’s Charlie’s deal?
For the last week, since DirecTV’s bid for GVT fell through, rumors have been circulating about a potential merger between DirecTV and DISH. However, to me that seems rather implausible in the near...
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FCC budget shreds LightSquared’s spectrum swap proposal…
The FCC’s proposed FY2014 budget, released on Wednesday, now appears to have sounded the death knell for LightSquared’s September 2012 spectrum swap proposal, that it should be granted access to the...
View ArticleDISH’s wireless ambitions
If you’ve been wondering what I’ve been up to for the last couple of weeks (like Phil), I’m pleased to announce that I’ve been hard at work on a new report, released today, on DISH’s bid for Sprint,...
View ArticleVery UnClearWire…
Late last week, it was gratifying to see Charlie Ergen essentially confirm my thesis about his bid for Sprint: the bid was a response to the refusal of Clearwire to consider selling spectrum to DISH...
View Article“Another sucker” bites the dust…
Many epitaphs are being written today, and perhaps even a few pitches for book deals, bringing back memories of my comments to Bethany McLean for her Vanity Fair article two years ago. However, some...
View ArticleI am serious, and don’t call me Shirley…
Some observers may be wondering if Charlie Ergen is serious when he suggests using LightSquared spectrum as an alternative to Clearwire, as suggested by today’s news that DISH made a $2B cash bid last...
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Spoiling for a fight…
Please Masa, don’t throw me into the litigation briar patch! This week saw an apparent reversal for DISH on Monday, when SoftBank agreed to increase its bid for Sprint slightly and Sprint rejected...
View ArticleThe plan all along?
Now that Clearwire’s board has urged its shareholders to reject the Sprint bid, and Sprint has initiated litigation to try and block DISH’s tender offer, it seems Charlie Ergen has a good chance of...
View ArticleIts the ecosystem, stupid…
Today Charlie Ergen’s next battle has officially begun, with the filing of LightSquared’s motion to extend exclusivity and potentially reject Ergen’s purchases (through Sound Point Special...
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