Dish Investors Can’t Exclude Ergen From LightSquared Bid

Charlie Ergen, Dish Network’s chairman and controlling shareholder, can’t be excluded from the satellite TV company’s bid in LightSquared’s bankruptcy auction, a Nevada judge ruled in a shareholder lawsuit.

Clark County District Judge Elizabeth Gonzalez in Las Vegas said the shareholders presented “no evidence and no coherent legal theory of irreparable harm” to bar Ergen and other Dish directors the investors claim are beholden to him from participating in the $2.22 billion bid for LightSquared assets. The Jacksonville Police and Fire Pension Fund sued the Dish board on behalf of the company, arguing an independent committee should oversee the LightSquared bid because Ergen had privately bought about $1 billion of the bankrupt company’s debt.

(Nov 28)