Dish receives financing offers from credit companies

Dish Network reportedly fielded financing offers from private credit companies in the face of increased pressure to pay down a debt load which matures later this year.

Bloomberg reported Dish Network, which merged with EchoStar earlier this year, received at least one proposition of more than $1 billion for financing which would be tied to an unrestricted subsidiary.

The news agency describes an unrestricted subsidiary as a unit that is free to incur debt.

Roger Entner, founder and analyst at Recon Analytics, told Mobile World Live while $1 billion is a lot of money, “Dish EchoStar needs a lot more than a billion dollars to make a significant impact in the mobile market”.

A Bloomberg analyst stated EchoStar has a debt load of almost $22 billion.

Bloomberg reported one of the options under discussion for Dish Network’s debt reduction is using the company’s spectrum as collateral.

MWL previously reported EchoStar cannot sell some of Dish Network’s spectrum to Verizon, AT&T or T-Mobile US until late 2026 due to a US Department of Justice agreement relating to the operator’s involvement in the acquisition of Sprint by T-Mobile.

In January, EchoStar formed a subsidiary for some of its wireless spectrum licences as part of a plan to unlock financial and operating flexibility.

On an earnings call, EchoStar CFO and EVP Paul Orban stated financing will be required to pay off $2 billion in debt maturing on 24 November.

Orban noted the company was in active discussions with numerous parties to secure financing to meet its future obligations.