Dish’s Charlie Ergen Can Make or Break T-Moblie-Sprint Deal
The billionaire, a former card shark, holds the fate of a blockbuster wireless merger in his hands.
Will Charlie Ergen hold `em or fold `em?
Photographer: Karl Gehring/Denver PostPlayers beware when Charlie Ergen holds all the cards. As T-Mobile US Inc. and Sprint Corp. continue to fight in Washington for their long-awaited merger, the wily satellite-TV billionaire is the companies’ best hope for getting the deal through. Unless, of course, he walks away.
Ergen, the 66-year-old chairman and co-founder of Dish Network Corp., has a reputation for being an finicky dealmaker, with a tendency to upset merger processes and then drop out. The former professional poker player would say he’s simply not afraid to fold his cards – or alienate his peers. Case in point: A few years ago, Ergen offered to buy both Sprint and Clearwire, which then turned into a bidding war against Sprint for Clearwire, a collection of wireless-spectrum assets. Ergen ultimately gave up on both pursuits, but not before driving Sprint to pay about 70% more than it initially bid. Sprint got Ergened.