The Charlie Ergen Echostar concluded a final agreement with Elon Musk SpaceX to sell the AWS-4 and H-Block Spectrum of the company for around $ 17 billion, including up to 8.5 billion dollars in cash and up to 8.5 billion dollars in SpaceX shares, companies announced on Monday. “In addition, the final agreement provides that SpaceX finances a total of around $ 2 billion in cash payments payable on Echostar debt until November 2027,” they said.
As part of the transaction, SpaceX and Echostar will conclude a long -term trade agreement, “which will allow Echostar Boost Mobile subscribers – via its native nucleus of the Cloud – to access Starlink of new generation of SpaceX directly to cellular service”, according to companies.
The president of the FCC, Brendan Carr, in a letter of May, had described the concerns concerning the obligations of strengthening the 5G network of Echostar and the use of certain Specter licenses following the complaints of SpaceX of Elon Musk according to which Echostar did not use it.
“Over the past decade, we have acquired the spectrum and facilitated the norms and devices of the world’s 5G spectrum, all with the foresight that direct connectivity to cells via satellite would change the way in which the world communicates,” said Hamid Akhavan, President and Chief Executive Officer of Echostar. “This transaction with SpaceX
Continue our heritage to put the customer first, because it allows the combination of Spectrum AWS-4 and H-Block of Echostar with the launch of rockets and the satellite capacities of SpaceX to achieve direct vision to cells in a more innovative, economical and faster way for consumers worldwide. “”
Gwynne Shotwell, president and head of the SpaceX exploitation: “We are delighted to make this transaction with Echostar because this will make our mission to put an end to the dead mobile areas worldwide. Spectrum, SpaceX will develop the new generation star link directly to cell satellites, which will have a change in performance and allow us to improve customer coverage wherever they are in the world. »»
Echostar said that he was planning the SpaceX transaction “as well as the spectrum sale previously announced [to AT&T] Resolve information from the Federal Commission Commission (FCC). »»
The closing of the proposed transaction is subject to the required regulatory approvals and “other closing conditions”. Its product will be used for, among other things, “withdraw certain debt and financing obligations of continuous operations and growth initiatives of Echostar,” said the company. “Current operations of Echostar, Sling and Hughes are not affected by this transaction.”
Echostar was represented by White & Case LLP and Steptoe & Johnson PLLC for this transaction. SpaceX was represented by Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP and HWG LLP.
