Charlie Ergen, who is chairman of both DISH Network and EchoStar, is reportedly looking to merge the two businesses.

Both companies are said to have appointed advisors, according to Semafor who first reported the story.

DISH Network looks after Ergen’s declining pay-TV business including its DISH Anywhere and Sling OTT services. DISH is also the home for Ergen’s nationwide cellular service.

EchoStar is Ergen’s satellite-owning business and includes Hughes Network Services. EchoStar was spun out of DISH in 2008.

Any marriage between the two would create a number of headaches. Top of the list is DISH’s debt burden, currently about $22 billion. EchoStar has minimal debt.

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Categories: Articles, Business, M&A

Tags: charlie ergen, dish, Echostar