Dish 1 Billion Debt Offering

[mike123abc]

Brief blurb so far just announced in the WSJ http://blogs.wsj.com/overheard/2013/04/02/charlie-ergens-white-rabbit/?mod=wsj_streaming_stream

On Tuesday Dish Network DISH +0.08% announced a $1 billion debt offering whose proceeds it may use for “wireless and spectrum-related strategic transactions.” The last time Dish announced a debt offering, on Dec. 19, it was only a matter of weeks before the company issued its proposal to buy Clearwire for $3.30 a share, suggesting Mr. Ergen may act quickly.

Perhaps Dish is going to up its bid for Clearwire.

 

[mike123abc]

http://dish.client.shareholder.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=753737

ENGLEWOOD, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- DISH Network Corporation (NASDAQ: DISH) today announced that its subsidiary, DISH DBS Corporation, plans to offer, subject to market and other conditions, approximately $1.0 billion aggregate principal amount of its senior notes. The net proceeds of the offering are intended to be used for general corporate purposes, which may include wireless and spectrum-related strategic transactions.

The notes will only be offered and sold to qualified institutional buyers in accordance with Rule 144A under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act") and in offshore transactions in accordance with Regulation S under the Securities Act. The notes being offered have not been and will not be registered under the Securities Act or the securities laws of any other jurisdiction. The notes may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from registration requirements. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the notes; nor shall there be any sale of these notes in any state or jurisdiction in which such an offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.

Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995

Except for historical information contained herein, the matters set forth in this press release are forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements set forth above involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from any such statement, including the risks and uncertainties discussed in DISH Network Corporation's and DISH DBS Corporation's Disclosure Regarding Forward-Looking Statements included in their recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including their annual reports on Form 10-K. The forward-looking statements speak only as of the date made, and DISH Network Corporation and DISH DBS Corporation expressly disclaim any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

 

[mike123abc]

Other speculation is that Dish could join the MetroPCS/T-Mobile deal.

 

[Tampa8]

As well as acquire Aereo.

 

[Yespage]

Going to buy AT&T.

 

[mike123abc]

1 billion is a good start, it shows Dish is serious. I do hope that Dish is successful in getting their newly created cellular network off the ground. More competition is sorely needed, especially in rural areas.

 

[CK SatGuy]

Going to buy AT&T.

AT&T is too big. More likely AT&T buying Dish.

 

[Yespage]

AT&T is too big. More likely AT&T buying Dish.

That is what Ergen wants people to think.

 

[Juan]

AT&T is too big. More likely AT&T buying Dish.

remember when Ted Turner tried to buy CBS?

 

[CK SatGuy]

That is what Ergen wants people to think.

I doubt he has $205 Billion to spend, but whatever.

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

DISH Network Places Offering of $2.3 Billion in Senior Notes

ENGLEWOOD, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- DISH Network Corporation (NASDAQ: DISH) today announced that its subsidiary, DISH DBS Corporation, has priced an offering of $1.1 billion aggregate principal amount of 5.125% Senior Notes due 2020 (the "2020 Notes") and $1.2 billion aggregate principal amount of 4.250% Senior Notes due 2018 (the "2018 Notes"). The 2020 Notes and the 2018 Notes will, in each case, be issued at an issue price of 100%. The net proceeds of the offering are intended to be used for general corporate purposes, which may include wireless and spectrum-related strategic transactions.

The offering is expected to close on April 5, 2013, subject to customary conditions.

The notes will only be offered and sold to qualified institutional buyers in accordance with Rule 144A under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act") and in offshore transactions in accordance with Regulation S under the Securities Act. The notes being offered have not been and will not be registered under the Securities Act or the securities laws of any other jurisdiction. The notes may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from registration requirements. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the notes; nor shall there be any sale of these notes in any state or jurisdiction in which such an offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.

Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995
Except for historical information contained herein, the matters set forth in this press release are forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements set forth above involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from any such statement, including the risks and uncertainties discussed in DISH Network Corporation's and DISH DBS Corporation's Disclosure Regarding Forward-Looking Statements included in their recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including their annual reports on Form 10-K. The forward-looking statements speak only as of the date made, and DISH Network Corporation and DISH DBS Corporation expressly disclaim any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

 

[CK SatGuy]

remember when Ted Turner tried to buy CBS?

Nobody was watching CBS back in the '80s.

 

[mike123abc]

So now we are up to 3.3 billion... That is a lot of cash to have sitting around without making a deal...

 

[nelson61]

Looks like they had more than enough buyers for the notes so increased the offering. http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/03/us-dishnetwork-debt-offering-idUSBRE9320K620130403

 

[Yespage]

I doubt he has $205 Billion to spend, but whatever.

Dude, get your sarcasm meter recal'd.

 

[mike123abc]

As of last quarter Dish had 7.4 billion in cash and short term assets. Now with an extra 2.3 billion they could make a really sweet deal for Clearwire if they wanted to up the bid. Or, if as also suggested buy into T-Mobile/Metro PCS.

 

[dewzan]

1 billion is a good start, it shows Dish is serious. I do hope that Dish is successful in getting their newly created cellular network off the ground. More competition is sorely needed, especially in rural areas.

I don't think "rural areas" is anywhere close to what dish or any large corp. is looking to improve. all the money is in big cities and if that benefits rural areas then ok but rural areas have been abandoned by corp. america.

 

[nelson61]

Bloomberg West reporters are in frenzy trying to figure out what Dish is up to. They say Dish people are smart and aggresive.

Sent from my S3 using SatelliteGuys

 

[TheKrell]

Well, Nelson, what's the scuttlebut over there? I personally favor Mike's idea of upping the ante on Clearwire. Even if Dish doesn't get it, they force Sprint to pay more. Serves Sprint right IMHO after complaining about interference with Dish's current spectrum holdings.

 

[mike123abc]

Dish faces an impossible task. It has to have a large portion of the population covered by its cellular service within a few years or it could lose its newly acquired spectrum... Even throwing billions of dollars a the problem it could come up short. Buying land/leasing tower space for tens of thousands of towers, installing backhaul to each of these towers, and getting service up and running is a daunting task. It really has to have a partner or Dish will be forced to sell its spectrum. Clearwire would have been a good fit since it was a struggling provider that happened to have tons of towers and backhaul. T-Mobile could work well also. Although T-Mobile is not as desperate as Clearwire, it is in a 4th place position, far behind the top 3. T-Mobile could be an excellent fall back if Clearwire does not work out.

Quite frankly Dish could be the best thing that has happened to cellular service in the US. No one has appeared willing to offer cheap internet to the home service to America. This is about rural homes. AT&T and VZ want to replace DSL with $10/GByte cellular service. If Dish can come in and offer significantly lower cost it could disrupt their plans.

Make no mistake, this is about rural America, where Dish is king. In the larger cities, Dish cannot compete with cable broadband. Yes, Dish will cover large cities with their service, but it will not be very well received compared to the rural areas where they compete against slow DSL, expensive cellular or hyper expensive satellite.