Billionaire Charlie Ergen reportedly set to merge Dish, EchoStar

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Billionaire Charlie Ergen may combine his two telecom companies, pay-TV provider Dish Network Corp. and satellite-communications company EchoStar Corp., the Wall Street Journal reported Monday night. According to the Journal, a deal could be announced as soon as Tuesday. Dish DISH, +0.66% has a valuation of about $4 billion, while EchoStar SATS, +21.26% has a market cap of about $1.6 billion. Exact terms were not reported, but the Journal said the price could be at a discount from EchoStar’s current stock price, after it surged 21%, to $23.50, on Monday, after lingering in the $15-$18 range in recent months. Ergen controls both companies, and the Journal said a combination would give him the financial flexibility to build a national wireless network to compete with AT&T Inc. T, +0.07% and Verizon Communications Inc. VZ, -0.28% . Among Dish’s holdings is wireless company Boost Mobile, and it’s been building a nationwide 5G network. EchoStar was spun off from Dish in 2008. Dish shares have recently been trading at their lowest level since 1999. Dish shares are down 46% year to date, while EchoStar is up 41%.