Sullivan & Cromwell, White & Case Guide AT&T-EchoStar Deal

Sullivan & Cromwell and White & Case guided EchoStar Corp.'s plan announced Tuesday to sell spectrum licenses to AT&T Inc. for about $23 billion.

Sullivan & Cromwell counseled AT&T, a long-time client of the firm. Lawyers that worked on the deal include Eric M. Krautheimer, co-managing partner of the firm’s general practice group; Melissa Sawyer, co-head of the global mergers and acquisitions group; and Ari B. Blaut, co-head of the liability management and capital solutions practice, co-head of the credit and leveraged finance practice and head of the private credit practice.

The firm guided for AT&T’s acquisition of Time Warner in 2016 and the spin-off of WarnerMedia in 2021, both led by Krautheimer and Sawyer.

White & Case’s Michael Deyong, co-head of the global mergers and acquisitions practice, and Jonathan Michels, a partner in the capital markets practice group, led the firm’s work for EchoStar. The firm’s lawyers have guided the company in previous matters, including EchoStar’s agreement to combine with DISH Network in 2023.

The transaction may help EchoStar avoid regulatory concerns about its airwave use after the Federal Communications Commission launched an investigation into whether it was meeting its obligations for wireless and satellite spectrum rights. The deal is expected to close by mid-2026, pending regulatory approval.

In addition to Sullivan & Cromwell, other law firms helped steer the transaction for AT&T: Arnold & Porter served as regulatory counsel and Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton acted as legal counsel for the spectrum leases.