Has DISH Made An Offer Sprint Can’t Refuse?

DISH Network has turned up the acquisition heat again, this time submitting a quad-play merger proposal to Sprint Nextel’s board to buy the Overland Park, Kan.-based carrier for a total cash and stock consideration of $25.5 billion, trumping the current offer by Japan’s Softbank by 13 percent, all things considered. DISH also is trying to buy Sprint’s Clearwire joint venture at a higher premium (CTDaily, 01/30/13). “The DISH proposal clearly presents Sprint shareholders with a superior alternative to the pending Softbank proposal,” said DISH Chair Charlie Ergen this morning before an analyst call. In addition to the extra cash, he continued, “a transformative DISH/Sprint merger will create the only company that can offer customers a convenient, fully-integrated, nationwide bundle of in- and out-of-home video, broadband and voice services. Additionally, the combined national footprints and scale will allow DISH/Sprint to bring improved broadband services to millions of homes with inferior or no access to competitive broadband services.” Broken down, DISH is offering $17.3 billion in cash and $8.2 billion in stock, with shareholders getting $7 a share. Softbank is offering $4.03 per share.