Related Party Transactions

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2024

Related Party Transactions

Related Party Transactions

18.Related Party Transactions

Sale of Assets to CONX

On March 10, 2024, CONX, a special purpose acquisition company, partially owned by Charles W. Ergen, our Chairman, and EchoStar Real Estate Holding L.L.C. (“Seller”), our subsidiary, entered into a definitive purchase and sale agreement, which provides for CONX’s purchase from the Seller of the commercial real estate property in Littleton, Colorado, comprising the corporate headquarters of DISH Wireless, for a purchase price of $26.75 million, net of deferred tax. The transaction closed May 1, 2024. The difference between our net carrying value of the assets sold and the purchase price was $3 million recorded in “Additional paid-in capital” on our Consolidated Balance Sheets as of December 31, 2024.

Concurrently with the transaction closing on May 1, 2024 we entered into an agreement to lease back the property from CONX for an initial 10 year term. During the year ended December 31, 2024, we recorded $2 million for this lease in “Selling, general and administrative expenses” on our Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income (Loss).

PIPE Shares

On September 30, 2024, we entered into the PIPE Investment with certain accredited investors including CONX, an entity partially owned by Charles W. Ergen, our Chairman. The portion of the PIPE Investment represented by the CONX Subscription Agreement represented an agreement to purchase from us an aggregate of 1.551 million shares of our Class A Common Stock for an aggregate cash purchase price of approximately $43.5 million. The PIPE Shares were issued and settled on November 12, 2024.

10 3/4% Senior Secured Notes due 2029

Prior to the November 12, 2024 issuance of our new 10 3/4% Senior Secured Notes due 2029, a related party of Charles W. Ergen, our chairman, agreed to commit to purchase and/or backstop an aggregate of $100 million of our new 10 3/4% Senior Secured Notes due 2029. Subsequently, such party assigned $5 million of such $100 million commitment to Hamid Akhavan, EchoStar’s President and Chief Executive Officer. On November 12, 2024, the related party of Charles W. Ergen and Hamid Akhavan purchased an aggregate of $95 million and $5 million, respectively, of our new 10 3/4% Senior Secured Notes due 2029.

Hughes Systique Corporation

We own 42% of Hughes Systique Corporation (“Hughes Systique”) and contract with Hughes Systique for software development services. Prior to December 31, 2023, we consolidated Hughes Systique’s financial statements into our Consolidated Financial Statements. As of December 31, 2023, we have deconsolidated the Hughes Systique results from our Consolidated Financial Statements and recorded the investment as a cost method investment in “Other investments, net” on our Consolidated Balance Sheets.

The table below summarizes our transactions with Hughes Systique:

	For the Years Ended December 31,
	2024		2023
	(In thousands)
Purchases:
Purchases from Hughes Systique	$	17,528	$	19,597
	As of December 31,
	2024		2023
	(In thousands)
Amounts Payable:
Amounts payable to Hughes Systique	$	1,466	$	1,704

NagraStar

We own a 50% interest in NagraStar, a joint venture that is our primary provider of encryption and related security systems intended to assure that only authorized customers have access to our programming. Certain payments related to NagraStar are recorded in “Cost of services” on our Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income (Loss). In addition, certain other payments are initially included in “Inventory” and are subsequently capitalized as “Property and equipment, net” on our Consolidated Balance Sheets or expensed as “Selling, general and administrative expenses” or “Cost of services” on our Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income (Loss) when the equipment is deployed. We record all payables in “Trade accounts payable” or “Other accrued expenses and liabilities” on our Consolidated Balance Sheets. Our investment in NagraStar is accounted for using the equity method.

The table below summarizes our transactions with NagraStar:

	For the Years Ended December 31,
	2024		2023		2022
	(In thousands)
Purchases (including fees):
Purchases from NagraStar	$	32,508	$	37,068	$	43,416
			As of December 31,
			2024		2023
			(In thousands)
Amounts Payable and Commitments:
Amounts payable to NagraStar			$	5,569	$	9,821
Commitments to NagraStar			$	883	$	1,727