Dish Launches $25.5 Billion Bid for Sprint

Satellite-TV provider Dish Network is making a $25.5 billion bid for Sprint Nextel, an effort to derail the No. 3 U.S. wireless carrier's acquisition by Softbank of Japan.

Dish is offering to pay $4.76 in cash and about $2.24 in Dish stock, based on Friday's closing price, for every share of Sprint. Sprint shares closed at $6.22 on Friday. Dish argues that the deal represents a 13% premium to Softbank's complicated proposal to buy 70% of Sprint for $20.1 billion. Combining his company with Sprint would allow Dish to offer video, high-speed Internet and voice service across the country in one package whether people are at home or out and about. People who don't have access to broadband from a cable company would be able to sign up for Internet service delivered wirelessly from Sprint cellphone towers to an antenna installed on their roof. Taking over Sprint would be a big bite. The wireless carrier booked $35.3 billion in revenue last year, compared with $14.3 billion for Dish. The combined company would carry more than $36 billion in debt, according to CapitalIQ, even before loading on the $9 billion Dish indicated it would borrow to do the deal.