Ante up

22 July 2015 By Jennifer Saba Follow @jennifersaba

U.S. regulators are set to approve the $48 bln merger, giving Charlie Ergen’s satellite firm one more headache. Dish lacks a clear strategy for new spectrum and faces a costly suit from nemesis Harbinger. Unless it can find a partner, the company may end up with industry scraps.

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AT&T is close to completing its $48.5 billion purchase of satellite-television provider DirecTV as U.S. regulators signaled on July 21 that they would approve the deal.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler has recommended that the five-member commission vote for the merger, and the Justice Department said the transaction did not pose a significant risk to competition.

Also on July 21, Harbinger Capital Partners sued Dish Network and its chairman, Charlie Ergen, over control of wireless company LightSquared.

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