Dish Network is scooping up more EchoStar assets, announcing Monday plans to acquire the company’s Broadcast Satellite Service (BSS) business in an all-stock deal valued at $800 million.
The portion of EchoStar’s business that the satellite pay-TV operator is acquiring manages and provides broadcast satellite services primarily to Dish Network, along with telemetry, tracking, and control services to satellites owned by Dish and some of EchoStar’s other businesses.
The agreement includes nine direct broadcast satellites, related licenses and technologies, and some real estate properties. Key employees responsible for satellite operations will also join Dish.
Dish CEO Erik Carlson said in a statement that bringing the assets and operations in-house will create operational efficiencies.
“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 Carlson in a statement. “This transaction brings those operations, including the BSS satellites, associated assets and key team members, in house and we expect those additions will create operational efficiencies and improve both free cash flow and EBITDA.”
EchoStar plans to focus its attention on broadband services.
“This transaction will allow EchoStar to focus our efforts on our high growth business of broadband services and other initiatives, while eliminating a negative growth component of our financial performance and the risk associated with providing services to a solitary customer,” said Mike Dugan, president and CEO of EchoStar, in a statement.
The deal is expected to close during the second half of 2019.
