Dish Network chairman Charlie Ergen has renewed efforts to acquire TerreStar Networks, agreeing to submit a “stalking horse” bid of $1.375 billion for the bankrupt hybrid- satellite-technology firm.
TerreStar’s assets are slated to be auctioned June 30, with Dish’s offer to serve as the opening bid, according to bankruptcy-court filings.
Analysts say Douglas County-based Dish, the nation’s No. 2 satellite-TV company, is interested in TerreStar’s satellite spectrum. The spectrum can be used for both wire-line and wireless services, Wells Fargo analyst Marci Ryvicker wrote in a research note Wednesday.
“While Dish has still not provided a clear plan for the spectrum, we note that this spectrum is ‘already in handsets’ and ready to deploy,” Ryvicker wrote.
TerreStar offers wholesale wireless voice and Internet services through ground-based and satellite communications systems. The company currently partners with AT&T on a cellphone service.
TerreStar says its satellite allows “service to be added to mainstream cellphones with little or no penalty in size and weight.”
In February, a deal to give ownership of TerreStar to Dish sister company EchoStar, also chaired by Ergen, was mutually withdrawn for undisclosed reasons. EchoStar is a TerreStar debt holder, with its stake valued at $647 million at the end of the first quarter, according to a regulatory filing.
Dish’s agreement to serve as the stalking-horse bidder was revealed in a bankruptcy-court filing made public Wednesday.
TerreStar wrote in the filing that the deal will allow the company “to further test the purchase price against the market and maximize value through the auction process.”
Dish is in the process of acquiring another bankrupt hybrid-satellite-technology company called DBSD.
Ergen has said Dish would likely need to partner with an established cellphone company if it were to launch mobile broadband and voice service.
Andy Vuong: 303-954-1209, avuong@denverpost.com or
