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Charlie Ergen buying Sirius debt
The satellite-TV maven may be looking to acquire the troubled satellite-radio concern.
Satellite-television entrepreneur Charlie Ergen is acquiring debt of Sirius XM Satellite Radio in a possible bid to take control of the company, according to published reports.
Ergen owns controlling interests in EchoStar Corp. and Dish Network, products of last year's split of Douglas County-based EchoStar Communications Corp.
Ergen recently acquired a portion of $300 million in Sirius XM debt that matures Feb. 17, in what could be a prelude to acquiring the troubled satellite-radio company, according to a report in Thursday's Wall Street Journal.
Analysts said it was not clear Thursday whether the Ergen-controlled entity buying the debt was EchoStar or Dish. EchoStar develops and sells satellite-TV set-top boxes. Dish,
EchoStar's largest customer, sells satellite service.
Officials from EchoStar, Dish and Sirius XM declined to comment on the reported debt transaction.
The satellite-radio company was formed from last year's merger of Sirius and XM, both of which were struggling with high costs and competition from other media.
Denver-based communications analyst Matthew Harrigan of Wunderlich Securities described the reports as "interesting" but said it is too early to tell whether Ergen is positioning himself for a Sirius XM takeover.
"It doesn't seem that there's enough substance there to show they're close to acquiring Sirius," Harrigan said. "But I think EchoStar probably has the (financial) latitude to do something like this. They tend to stick close to their knitting, so this would be an aggressive move for them."
Analyst Steve Clement of Portland, Ore.-based Pacific Crest Securities described Ergen as "a long-term, value- driven guy."
"If there's an opportunity to buy some satellite assets on the cheap, I'm sure that's very intriguing to him," Clement said.
Sirius XM shares gained 2.25 cents Thursday to close at 16.5 cents. The shares were trading at $3.12 a year ago.
Ergen may be angling to swap the debt for equity as part of a possible Sirius XM bankruptcy reorganization, according to the Journal article.
Sirius XM has more than $900 million in debt coming due this year. The company in November reported a third-quarter net loss of $217 million on revenue of $613 million.
The satellite-TV maven may be looking to acquire the troubled satellite-radio concern.
Satellite-television entrepreneur Charlie Ergen is acquiring debt of Sirius XM Satellite Radio in a possible bid to take control of the company, according to published reports.
Ergen owns controlling interests in EchoStar Corp. and Dish Network, products of last year's split of Douglas County-based EchoStar Communications Corp.
Ergen recently acquired a portion of $300 million in Sirius XM debt that matures Feb. 17, in what could be a prelude to acquiring the troubled satellite-radio company, according to a report in Thursday's Wall Street Journal.
Analysts said it was not clear Thursday whether the Ergen-controlled entity buying the debt was EchoStar or Dish. EchoStar develops and sells satellite-TV set-top boxes. Dish,
EchoStar's largest customer, sells satellite service.
Officials from EchoStar, Dish and Sirius XM declined to comment on the reported debt transaction.
The satellite-radio company was formed from last year's merger of Sirius and XM, both of which were struggling with high costs and competition from other media.
Denver-based communications analyst Matthew Harrigan of Wunderlich Securities described the reports as "interesting" but said it is too early to tell whether Ergen is positioning himself for a Sirius XM takeover.
"It doesn't seem that there's enough substance there to show they're close to acquiring Sirius," Harrigan said. "But I think EchoStar probably has the (financial) latitude to do something like this. They tend to stick close to their knitting, so this would be an aggressive move for them."
Analyst Steve Clement of Portland, Ore.-based Pacific Crest Securities described Ergen as "a long-term, value- driven guy."
"If there's an opportunity to buy some satellite assets on the cheap, I'm sure that's very intriguing to him," Clement said.
Sirius XM shares gained 2.25 cents Thursday to close at 16.5 cents. The shares were trading at $3.12 a year ago.
Ergen may be angling to swap the debt for equity as part of a possible Sirius XM bankruptcy reorganization, according to the Journal article.
Sirius XM has more than $900 million in debt coming due this year. The company in November reported a third-quarter net loss of $217 million on revenue of $613 million.
