Dish Network aborts $2.2B LightSquared takeover bid

By VCPOST Staff Reporter

Jan 09, 2014 12:55 AM EST

Colorado-based Dish Network Corp. is terminating its bid for LightSquared Inc. LightSquared is the bankrupt telecom firm whose wireless spectrum Dish Network has been coveting.

Reuters, citing an earlier report by the Wall Street Journal, said that pay-TV network operator Dish Network is expected to disclose its letter of termination of the bid as soon as Thursday morning.

The move is the latest twist in a long-running saga involving LightSquared's portfolio of wireless spectrum or broadband frequencies in the United States. Dish Network offered $2.2 billion to buy LightSquared, a bid Harbinger Capital Partners said undervalued the target's assets. Harbinger is LightSquared's controlling shareholder, the report said.

Philip Falcone-backed Harbinger last week asked a federal judge to reject a takeover effort by Dish Network, calling it a Trojan Horse. LightSquared itself, in a separate court filing, also called for the rejection of the Dish Network plan, Reuters said in previous report.      

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