Dish Joins SoftBank in Battle for Sprint

In a move that has a bearing on the continued sponsorship of NASCAR's biggest series, Dish Network Corp. has announced an offer to buy Sprint for big money.

According to Reuters, Dish Network Corp, the No. 2 U.S. satellite television provider, offered to buy Sprint Nextel Corp for $25.5 billion in cash and stock, a move that could thwart the proposed acquisition of Sprint by Japan's SoftBank Corp.

Sprint shares soared 16.2 percent to their highest level since September 2008, leaving them well above the value of the Dish offer on Monday. Dish's surprise bid is the latest development as the U.S. wireless business undergoes a wave of consolidation. Dish was already in the midst of an unsolicited offer for Clearwire Corp, the wireless company majority-owned by Sprint. Dish said it would pay $4.76 per share in cash and about 0.05953 shares in Dish stock for each Sprint share. The offer, which works out to $7 per share, represents a premium of roughly 12 percent to Sprint's close on Friday. Sprint, the No. 3 U.S. mobile services provider, agreed in October to sell 70 percent of its shares to SoftBank for $20 billion. No date has been set yet for a vote on that deal. Sprint declined to comment on the Dish offer.

Money/MSN reported that Sprint said it would evaluate the proposal but declined further comment. Some analysts said the Dish offer could lead to a bidding war with SoftBank. The combined entity would have 63.1 million retail subscribers and $50 billion in annual revenues, Dish said in a regulatory filing. 

The play for Sprint came together in the last few months as Dish started to think through all of its alternatives to gain even more spectrum, according to a source familiar with the matter. As much as Dish wants a wireless partner, analysts said Sprint also needs a deal to compete more effectively. Wells Fargo analyst Jennifer Fritzsche said Sprint management likely prefers the SoftBank offer, given the Japanese company's deeper background in the wireless market.