Shares of Dish Network parent EchoStar surged on heavy trading volume Friday on reports of a merger agreement could soon be reached between Dish and satellite TV rival DirecTV.
With an hour left in the trading day, the stock was up 9% at $28.08.
The combined entity would be the largest pay-TV provider in the U.S. with nearly 20 million subscribers. In 2021, AT&T spun off DirecTV into a privately held company, with private equity firm TPG buying a 30% stake. Dish and EchoStar merged last January.
The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg both reported that a combination was in advanced discussions, with a deal potentially being announced as soon as Monday. Both media outlets also cautioned that the talks are not certain to bear fruit.
Reps from Dish and DirecTV did not immediately respond to Deadline’s requests for comment.
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