News & Analysis
CEO: Dish "Open" to Being Sold
By Swanni
Las Vegas
(January 12,
2012) -- Dish CEO Joe Clayton
raised eyebrows yesterday when he said the satellite TV service
is "open" to being purchased by another company.
"We're open to all possible options," Clayton told Bloomberg
News after being asked about possible merger plans. "We could be
acquired or we could be the acquirer."
Clayton, who was interviewed at the Consumer Electronics Show,
did say the company would be "open" to those options after it
finished 'building out' its wireless spectrum and entertainment
businesses. There has been speculation that Dish might be
interested in buying T-Mobile.
Clayton, a long-time executive in the satellite and TV business,
is known for his candor, but it's somewhat unusual for a company
CEO to acknowledge so openly that his company is "open" to being
purchased. Normally, the CEO dodges such a question with
generalities and industry-speak.
But for Clayton to say his company could be purchased suggests
that Dish could be actively soliciting bids as well as
discussing possible acquisitions of its own. The Dish executive
almost seems to setting the stage for a major change to the
company's status.
Of course, over the years, there have been countless rumors that
Dish would be purchased by another company, or merge with ne.
And only twice did the rumors come true: In 1997, Dish began
merger talks with News Corp, but they collapsed when company
executives butted heads. And in 2001, DIRECTV and Dish Network
agreed to merge, but the deal was killed by federal regulators
on anti-competitive reasons.
And with Dish as the nation's second leading satellite TV
service, any deal would likely again be carefully reviewed in
Washington.
