AT&T, Echostar Rumors Get RidiculousCited insiders offer very different picture of negotiations...
(
old news - 03:34PM Monday Nov 26 2007)
tags: satellite · Video · business · Dish NetworkUSAToday all but buries AT&T's rumored acquisition of Echostar, saying that not only are the two companies not talking, AT&T
"has no interest in trying to broker a deal anytime soon." AT&T had apparently talked to Echostar about a possible deal within the last few months, but the discussions didn't get very far. TheStreet.com, which has been a major pusher of the rumor for the last several months,
continues to insist that talks continue:
"Conversations are still going on," says another source familiar with the EchoStar side of the discussions. And the two sides are still talking of a price somewhere in the $60 range, the source adds. AT&T had hoped to wrap up the deal with the Dish network broadcaster last week, but the phone company's board eased up a bit given the lack of investor enthusiasm. As one source said: "AT&T is digesting it."
Of course even if AT&T goes forward with the deal, it's not clear it would see regulatory approval. Already a shaky proposition under a Republican-controlled FCC, the deal would be even more unlikely should a Democrat take control of the White House and the FCC sees a new Democratic majority.
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