Dish Talks for T-Mobile Said Stalled on Structure, Valuation

Apparently, the slow-moving Dish Network talks to acquire T-Mobile US from Deutsche Telekom AG have stalled over concerns related to valuation and structure. The lack of momentum calls into question whether any transaction will get done in 2015 or at all, apparently. The two companies will soon turn their attention to a spectrum auction in 2016 in which they’d either be bidding on wireless airwaves as one company or competing.

Dish and Deutsche Telekom would want to iron out an agreement in the next two or three months before focusing on the auction, and the halt in talks has made that timeframe unlikely. T-Mobile will eventually need more spectrum to continue growing, and a deal with Dish would let it avoid spending billions at government auctions. The timing pressure stems from a quiet period the two companies would face related to an auction early in 2016 of US airwaves surrendered by television stations intended to help feed the growing need for mobile carriers. The companies will be prohibited from speaking publicly or to each other due to the Federal Communications Commission’s anti-collusion rules. The ball is in Dish’s court, two people familiar with the situation said. Deutsche Telekom has told Dish what kind of offer it wants and so far Dish hasn’t met that demand.