(Bloomberg) — Deutsche Bank AG’s US distressed-products desk notched more than $100 million in profit this year betting on securities affected by the dramatic near bankruptcy and subsequent windfall at Charlie Ergen’s EchoStar Corp., according to people familiar with the situation, who asked not to be named discussing confidential information.

The unit traded and took positions in both equity and debt throughout EchoStar’s various units, the people said, getting a major lift in recent weeks after EchoStar announced wireless spectrum sales that will bring in about $40 billion. 

Taken together, the winnings make Echostar one of the desk’s biggest profit drivers so far in 2025, the people said. A representative for the bank declined to comment. 

Distressed debt, sitting within the credit trading unit overseen by Chetan Shah, is a key revenue maker for Deutsche Bank, which has otherwise been rebounding from an era of painful losses and legal scandals. In recent years, the group made about $1 billion betting on the recovery of Zim Integrated Shipping Services Ltd. It also spearheaded litigation over Lehman Brothers securities once discarded as worthless, but which are now set for a payout.

This year so far, the US desk played a prominent role in situations including the debtor-in-possession financing of auto supplier Marelli Holdings Co. as well as the second debt overhaul at movie-theater chain AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. 

Since 2023, the team has been run by CJ Lanktree, who was also its head from around 2003 to 2012. In the interim, Lanktree spent time at Solus Asset Management as a portfolio manager. 

EchoStar’s recent sales of wireless spectrum to AT&T Inc. and SpaceX capped a years-long distressed debt saga by rewarding some of the investors who had endured prolonged gamesmanship between Ergen and bondholders, rivals and regulators. 

After travails including creditor standoffs, foiled merger plans, and a trip to the brink of bankruptcy and back, the transactions opened the door to Echostar paying down much of the $25 billion debt load Ergen had amassed in his bid to expand his telecommunications business. 

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