Dish’s Sprint bid picks up speed

Dish Network’s $25.5 billion proposal to take over Sprint Nextel is better than a board-endorsed offer by Softbank Corp., investor Omega Advisors said yesterday, joining billionaire John Paulson in praising the bid.

“We like the Dish offer and think it is superior to Softbank,” Omega Chief Executive Officer Leon Cooperman said in an e-mail. New York-based Omega holds a 1.9 percent stake in Sprint.

The endorsement, which follows favorable comments yesterday from Sprint shareholder Paulson, adds momentum to Dish’s pursuit of Sprint, the third-largest US mobile-phone company. Dish Chairman Charlie Ergen seeks control of Sprint to convert his satellite-TV company into a wireless juggernaut.

Dish said the offer is a 13 percent premium to the value of Softbank’s deal, which is also a mix of cash and stock.

Sprint fell 1.5 percent to $7.09, while Dish fell 10 cents to $37.83.