Report: Dish Network looking to renegotiate Boost purchase as T-Mobile looks for new buyer

A report from Fox Business offers some insight on what’s going on behind the scenes as Dish Network is expected to purchase Boost Mobile from Sprint as part of an agreement that was made with regulators. T-Mobile and Sprint’s merging required that a third-party purchase Boost Mobile, along with its customers and assets for $1.4 billion.

Due to the pandemic, the value of these assets has fallen and Dish Network chair Charlie Ergen is wary of going through with the purchase of Boost Mobile.

FOX Business has learned Ergen is balking at the sale price as the value of many assets declined amid the coronavirus pandemic-spawned recession. And T-Mobile is growing frustrated and looking at other potential buyers, people with knowledge of the matter say.

Ergen is reportedly “extremely hard to work with and not living up to their end of the bargain” as per a person close to T-Mobile. The divestment of Boost was supposed to be completed by June 1 but an internal memo to T-Mobile’s employees suggests the acquisition has been put on hold. Dish Network’s purchase of Boost Mobile was a conditional event to take place for the Sprint/T-Mobile merger to close, and it seems the carrier celebrated too early.

T-Mobile is reportedly looking for alternative buyers, including an arrangement of multiple private parties all chipping in to fund the purchase of Boost. Softbank still intends to fund the purchase for Dish Network, but the Japanese company is reportedly in financial problems.

Regardless of whether Dish buys Boost or not, T-Mobile must sell the prepaid brand to some other party as per the regulator's agreement.

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