Gibson Dunn, HWG LLP, White & Case LLP, and Steptoe LLP advised on SpaceX’s $17 billion acquisition of EchoStar’s AWS-4 and H-block spectrum licenses.

In connection with the transaction, SpaceX and EchoStar will also enter into a long-term commercial agreement that will enable EchoStar’s Boost Mobile subscribers, through its cloud-native 5G core, to access SpaceX’s next generation Starlink Direct to Cell service.

Gibson Dunn is advising SpaceX on its $17 billion acquisition of EchoStar’s full portfolio of AWS-4 and H-block 50 MHz spectrum licenses, along with certain international rights and priorities related to that spectrum.

The corporate team includes partners George Sampas, Robert Little, and James Springer, alongside associates Cody Wilson and Joshua Paul Barringer. Partners Doug Horowitz, Stewart McDowell, Matthew Williams, Jason Zachary Goldstein, Dean Masuda, and AnnElyse Scarlett Gains and associate Julia Sweitzer are advising on finance. Partner Madalyn Miller and associates Tom Caruso and Alexandra Davidson are advising on business trust. Partner Michael Cannon and associates Josiah Bethards, Eugene Wei-En Woo, and Duncan Hamilton are advising on tax. Partners Sophia Hansell and Attila Borsos, of counsel Alana Tinkler, and associate Alexander Merritt are advising on antitrust.

HWG LLP also represented SpaceX on the transaction.

White & Case LLP has advised EchoStar, a premier provider of technology, networking services, television entertainment and connectivity, on its entry into a definitive agreement with SpaceX to sell its AWS-4 and H-block spectrum licenses for approximately US$17 billion, consisting of up to US$8.5 billion in cash and up to US$8.5 billion in SpaceX stock valued as of entry into the definitive agreement. The definitive agreement also provides for SpaceX to fund an aggregate of approximately US$2 billion of cash interest payments payable on EchoStar debt through November 2027.

The White & Case team was led by partners Michael Deyong, Jonathan Michels, Keith Hallam and Daniel Dufner (all in New York). The team also included Capital Markets partners A.J. Ericksen (Houston), Anna Soroka and Anthony Tama (both in London); Debt Finance partner Binoy Dharia (New York); Financial Restructuring and Insolvency partners Thomas Lauria (Miami) and Matthew Linder (Chicago); M&A associates Dilara Erik, Eliot Murphy (both in New York) and Conor Cannon (Silicon Valley); Debt Finance associates Viraj Bathe and Jessy Van Kooten (both in New York); Capital Markets associate Elizabeth Mapelli (New York); and Tax partners David Dreier and Adriana Zhan and associate Daniel Park (all in New York). Law clerks Kade Alexander (New York) and Sunrita Sen (Chicago) also assisted on the matter.

Steptoe LLP also represented EchoStar on the matter.