Dish Network's Charlie Ergen Explores Consolidation of Telecom Businesses with EchoStar

DISH Network Corp DISH Chair Charlie Ergen is weighing the merger of the two halves of his telecom empire, Dish and EchoStar Corp SATS.

The companies have engaged advisors, Reuters cites familiar sources.

In 2008, EchoStar Communications, which Ergen founded as a satellite television equipment distributor in 1980, changed its name to Dish Network and spun off its technology arm as a new company named EchoStar.

Currently, Ergen is desperate to sell some of Dish's assets, trying to sell everything that is non-core and to finance financeable holdings as the company struggled to sell assets and battle speculation of possible bankruptcy.

Also Dish's talks with Amazon.Com Inc AMZN about providing Prime customers with spectrum failed to materialize.

Price Actions: DISH shares closed higher by 0.74% at $6.81 on Thursday. ECHO shares closed higher by 3.46% at $17.66.

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