Deal benefits both EchoStar and DISH

Article Excerpt

ECHOSTAR CORP. $40 (Nasdaq symbol SATS; Manufacturing & Industry Sector; Shares outstanding: 97.4 million; Market cap: $4.0 billion; No dividend paid; Takeover Target Rating: Lowest; www.echostar.com) sells satellite-based high-speed Internet access through its Hughes business to over 1.5 million consumers and businesses in the U.S. and other countries. EchoStar’s other major business, EchoStar Satellite Services, owns nine satellites in geosynchronous orbit (travelling around the earth). They relay TV and communication signals. This EchoStar division also sells other services, such as telemetry, tracking and control, to operators of other satellites. Its clients include DISH Network (see right). On September 10, 2019, the company transferred the portion of EchoStar Satellite that services DISH to that firm. The operations include all of the nine geosynchronous satellites. Gaining full control of those assets will help lower DISH’s costs. Under the term of the transfer, EchoStar shareholders received 0.23523769 of a DISH class A share (one vote per share) for each share they held. Class A shareholders are not liable for…