Will T-Mobile Acquire Dish Network?
Telecom Industry Updates on Dish–T-Mobile Merger
T-Mobile may acquire Dish Network
On June 4, 2014, The Wall Street Journal reported that Dish Network (DISH) is planning to merge with T-Mobile (TMUS). T-Mobile is the fourth-largest wireless carrier in the US, with a subscriber base of ~57 million at the end of the first quarter of 2015. Currently, the merger discussions between Dish Network and T-Mobile are in the formative stages, and the details of the impending deal have not yet been worked out.
As the chart above indicates, Dish Network had the third-largest number of pay-TV subscribers at the end of the first quarter, at ~14 million. Comcast (CMCSA) had the largest number of video subscribers at ~22 million. DIRECTV (DTV) had ~20 million subscribers, while Time Warner Cable (TWC) had ~11 million subscribers at the end of 1Q15.
About Dish Network and T-Mobile
Dish Network is a pay-TV service that offers HD (high-definition) programming and recently launched Sling TV, a streaming OTT (over-the-top) Internet-based television service. T-Mobile is a wireless service provider to prepaid, post-paid, and wholesale customers. It operates under its flagship brands T-Mobile and MetroPCS.
As of June 18, 2015, T-Mobile had a market capitalization of $32.2 billion, slightly less than Dish Network’s market capitalization of $33.3 billion.
In the next part of this series, we will look at why T-Mobile would be interested in Dish Network. Instead of investing directly in T-Mobile stock, you can get a diversified exposure to the stock by investing in the iShares Dow Jones US Telecom Exchange Traded Fund (IYZ). IYZ holds 6.38% in the telecommunications company.
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