Dish is reportedly considering acquiring T-Mobile

Dish Network Corp. (DISH)’s Charlie Ergen recently contacted Deutsche Telekom AG (DTE) to say he is interested in a future acquisition of its T-Mobile US Inc. (TMUS) unit, people with knowledge of the matter said. Ergen, who made the approach after Deutsche Telekom’s talks to combine T-Mobile with Sprint Corp. broke down last month, hasn’t made any formal offer, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the conversations were private. He has told Deutsche Telekom — which also received an offer from France’s Iliad SA (ILD) — that he’d be open to the idea in the coming months, they said. Dish, the second-largest U.S. satellite-TV provider, has told Deutsche Telekom, which owns about two-thirds of T-Mobile, that it may be interested in a deal after a November auction for wireless airwaves is completed, said the people. Dish hasn’t formally hired a bank to advise it on a T-Mobile takeover, and it’s still unclear if the Englewood, Colorado-based company is serious about a deal, the people said. The conversation isn’t out of the ordinary for Ergen, the co-founder of Dish, who also controls the company. He has spoken with Deutsche Telekom for several years about this deal, two people said. The most recent overtures may have been motivated by the end of talks with Sprint, as well as Ergen’s desire to persuade Deutsche Telekom not to reach an agreement with Iliad before the end of the year, the people said.