Douglas County – Charlie Ergen wants the satellite company he started in 1980 to remain independent.
The chairman and chief executive of EchoStar Communications Corp. told analysts Thursday that EchoStar doesn’t need a partner to ease the competitive pressures presented by cable companies and telecommunications companies entering the pay-TV market.
“From my personal perspective, I like us to be an independent company where we can move quickly,” Ergen said. “At the end of the day, we run the company for shareholders.”
Analysts asked whether EchoStar would consider partnering with DirecTV, a one-time potential merger partner before regulators thwarted those plans. El Segundo, Calif.-based DirecTV is the nation’s largest satellite-TV provider, with 15.4 million subscribers. EchoStar has 12.3 million.
“We don’t feel like we need a partner, but I do think that it’s prudent for management to look at every situation that you can increase shareholder value,” Ergen said.
EchoStar also has come under fire for its aggressive litigation tactics, prompting sanctions and admonishment from judges.
“I think we have room for improvement,” Ergen said when asked whether the company was earning a bad reputation in the courtroom.
“We certainly try to be ethical,” he said after EchoStar’s annual meeting at its headquarters in Douglas County. “It’s disappointing when judges think we should be doing something better. There’s always a fine line (in terms of being too aggressive), and sometimes you don’t know what that is.”
EchoStar’s meeting lasted 25 minutes. On the agenda: approving members of the board of directors, ratification of KPMG LLP as the company’s independent public accounting firm, and amending and ratifying the employee stock-purchase plan and nonemployee director stock-option plan.
Bert Hanou, 83, of Greenwood Village and his wife, N.J., have held stock in EchoStar since the company went public in 1996. The retired United Airlines employees said they attend the annual meeting every year because they like to hear Ergen speak.
“It’s one of our few security blankets,” said N.J., 82, of their EchoStar stock. “I’m very appreciative of how he’s running the company.”
Despite the company’s first- quarter income decline over last year, the Hanous said they would continue to hold on to their EchoStar stock and keep attending the meetings.
“My wife gets a hug from Charlie at every meeting,” Bert Hanou said.
Shares of EchoStar fell $1.30, 4 percent, on Thursday to close at $30.95.
The Associated Press and Bloomberg News contributed to this report.
Staff writer Kimberly S. Johnson can be reached at 303-820-1088 or kjohnson@denverpost.com.
