Ergen Keeps Rivals Guessing
Charles Ergen’s maneuvering just cost rival SoftBank Corp. $1.5 billion by forcing it to raise its offer for Sprint Nextel Corp. But the question remains, is that a victory for the Dish Network Corp. chairman, or a defeat?
Mr. Ergen’s knack for being famously hard to read left Wall Street and the telecom industry guessing his next move. Would Mr. Ergen try to convince Sprint shareholders a tie-up with Dish still offers a better deal? Would he sweeten Dish’s bid for Sprint? Would he turn to another telecom target?