Billionaire Charlie Ergen Conjures M&A Magic to Save His Empire

Billionaire media mogul and former professional blackjack player Charlie Ergen is known to keep “feng shui water” in his office for good luck. These days, Wall Street is wondering whether he’s finally running out of it.

A week ago, Ergen averted a financial crisis by announcing plans to merge two of his cash-strapped businesses — the pay-TV provider Dish Network Corp. and satellite operator EchoStar Corp. But in a matter of months, there’s a very real possibility that the satellite TV empire he’s trying so desperately to reinvent as a wireless carrier will face another reckoning.

Ergen needs to ...