Dish Network in Talks with Banks About Funding T-Mobile Bid

Dish Network is in talks with banks about funding a bid for T-Mobile that would include as much as $15 billion in cash, in the latest sign the takeover effort is progressing. Apparently, Dish is considering borrowing between $10 billion and $15 billion for the cash portion of a bid that would primarily be comprised of its stock. The two sides are discussing a deal that would leave Deutsche Telekom AG , which controls T-Mobile, with a big minority stake in a combined company. However, apparently a deal agreement between Dish and T-Mobile isn't imminent, and it is possible there won’t be one.

It is unclear how much Dish is considering paying for T-Mobile, which has a market value of $31 billion and is the nation’s fourth-largest cellphone carrier. Dish, the country’s second-largest satellite-television provider, has a market value of $34 billion. Still, Dish’s discussions with banks, and the fact that the structure of any bid is coming into focus, are a sign that the company and its unpredictable chief executive, Charlie Ergen, are moving closer to potentially buying T-Mobile after years of aborted attempts to strike a big wireless or satellite deal. Dish has consistently expressed interest in entering the wireless industry and has been amassing licenses to use wireless airwaves that a network like T-Mobile’s would enable it to put to use.