Dish Network Buys EchoStar Broadcast Satellite Business

By Patrick Thomas 

Dish Network Corp. said Monday that it will acquire parts of satellite company EchoStar Corp. in an all-stock deal valued at about $800 million.

The Colorado-based Dish said it will acquire EchoStar's broadcast satellite-service business, which includes nine direct broadcast satellites and select real estate properties.

The deal is expected to close in the second half of 2019. Dish said its expects the deal to create operational efficiencies and improve its free cash flow.

Dish acquired certain EchoStar assets back in 2017.

"In 2017, when DISH acquired the EchoStar assets that we needed to deliver the DISH TV and Sling TV customer experiences, key broadcast satellite operations and services remained with EchoStar," said Erik Carlson, Dish's chief executive, in prepared remarks. "This transaction brings those operations, including the BSS satellites, associated assets and key team members, in house.

The U.S. pay-TV sector has been shrinking in recent years as price-conscious cord-cutters drop expensive cable and satellite-TV connections in search of other forms of entertainment. Dish offset some of those losses by launching online-only Sling TV in 2015, though growth in this market has also slowed in recent months.

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 20, 2019 06:54 ET (10:54 GMT)

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