There is a 65% chance that AT&T will buy EchoStar’s DISH Network satellite TV service within the next 12 months, according to Citigroup analyst Jason Bazinet in a research report published today. AT&T could pay up to $29.1 billion, or $65 per share, for such a deal, Bazinet predicted.

Speculation surrounding the potential acquisition is at an all-time high following TheStreet.com’s report today that AT&T hired Goldman Sachs to advise it on a potential deal. AT&T allegedly made the appointment last month, when EchoStar concurrently announced it was considering splitting into two units – consumer business, including DISH Network, and the technology and infrastructure equipment business.

In Bazinet’s report, he said the spin-off into two companies is inconsistent with EchoStar’s philosophy of not really paying attention to shareholders. The company has no investor relations department, generally won’t meet with Wall Street analysts and does little beyond filing its required 10-Qs and 10-Ks, Bazinet said. The fact that the company even made an announcement about splitting the company “suggests something else may be driving the decision to spin a company off from EchoStar,” he said. That something else could be AT&T, which would have reason to take an interest in EchoStar’s consumer business division.

In August, a Bear Stearns analyst said that acquiring Echostar’s DISH business would help AT&T bulk up its television service, Project Lightspeed. According to TheStreet.com, however, the push to get the deal underway now comes more from the perception that the current Republican-led regulatory environment could change if a Democratic administration is elected next year.