Dish's Charlie Ergen on Sprint Offer: 'We're Not Going to Lose'

Dish Network chairman Charlie Ergen has been hard at work trying to convince the shareholders of Sprint that his company would make a better home for the wireless provider than Softbank.

On May 2, he turned his attention to his own shareholders, fielding their questions at Dish’s annual meeting. Asked by one analyst what Dish’s options are if Sprint rejects its overtures, Ergen shaped an answer that matched the confident tone of his rival, Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son, who earlier this week predicted that he would prevail without raising his offer. “We’re not going to lose because we’ve got a better offer on the table,” Ergen insisted. “Our offer is seven dollars and ten cents a share. Softbank’s offer is six dollars and thirty-eight cents a share. Now, if Softbank were to raise their offer to seven dollars and eleven cents, then it’s a fair fight.” “It’s simply a bidding war of two companies,” he added. “Ultimately, the shareholders of Sprint are going to take the person who has the most money, and secondarily who has the best strategic plan going forward.”