ClearWire

Business
May 30, 2013
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Dish Clearwire Acquisition Offer Increased

Dish ups bid for Clearwire two days before shareholder meeting

By on May 30, 2013 at 10:00 PM.

Dish ups bid for Clearwire two days before shareholder meeting

Dish on Wednesday increased its bid to acquire wireless broadband wholesaler Clearwire. The company is now offering $4.40 per share, a 29% premium over Sprint’s proposal, which values the firm at $6.47 billion. Sprint recently raised its offer to $3.40 per share after shareholders had criticized its original proposal of $2.97 per share. Dish, whose offer comes two days before Clearwire shareholders are scheduled to vote on Sprint’s proposal, is also locked in a battle with Japanese company SoftBank to acquire Sprint.

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Business
May 22, 2013
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Clearwire Sprint Acquisition Revised Offe

Clearwire board approves revised Sprint offer

By on May 22, 2013 at 11:40 AM.

Clearwire board approves revised Sprint offer

Clearwire’s Board of Directors has approved a revised offer from Sprint to acquire a remaining 50% stake in the company. Sprint had previously offered $2.97 per share, or $2.2 billion, for the wireless broadband wholesaler. After several shareholders voiced their concerns about the sale, Sprint decided to raise its offer to $3.40 per share. The revised bid valued Clearwire at $10.7 billion and represented a 14% premium over the original bid. The board is recommending shareholders vote in favor of the acquisition when they meet on May 31st. Clearwire’s press release follows below. More →

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Business
May 21, 2013
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Sprint Clearwire Buyout Offer

Sprint looks to snap up Clearwire with more appealing offer

By on May 21, 2013 at 10:55 AM.

Sprint looks to snap up Clearwire with more appealing offer

Sprint on Tuesday announced a revised offer for wireless broadband wholesaler Clearwire. The carrier is looking to acquire the remaining Clearwire shares it does not already own for $2.97 per share, or $2.2 billion, valuing the company at $10 billion. Sprint has now increased its bid $3.40 per share, upping Clearwire’s value to $10.7 billion. The revised offer represents a 14% premium over the company’s earlier bid and a 162% premium over Clearwire’s closing share price in October when it was rumored to be part of the Sprint-SoftBank merger discussions. Sprint notes that the offer is the best and final offer it will propose. The company’s press release follows below. More →

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mobile
April 15, 2013
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Verizon reportedly offering $1.5 billion to use Clearwire's spectrum

Verizon reportedly offering $1.5 billion to lease Clearwire’s spectrum

By on April 15, 2013 at 2:40 PM.

Verizon reportedly offering $1.5 billion to lease Clearwire’s spectrum

Clearwire disclosed in a securities filing on Friday that it had received an offer from an unnamed company for use of its spectrum. According to The Wall Street Journal, Verizon is behind the proposed deal and has offered $1.5 billion to lease Clearwire’s spectrum. Verizon is said to be interested in Clearwire spectrum in big markets to help it bolster its 4G LTE service. The carrier is expected to face a few obstacles, however. Wireless rival Sprint has a controlling stake in Clearwire and recently proposed a takeover of the company, while at the same time Sprint is in the middle of dealing with its own merger offers from Japanese carrier SoftBank and from Dish Network. Clearwire, Sprint and Verizon, nevertheless, will come together to evaluate the offer and discuss it in further detail.

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Business
April 11, 2013
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Sprint Clearwire Merger Opposed

Clearwire’s largest minority shareholder moves to fight Sprint takeover

By on April 11, 2013 at 7:35 PM.

Clearwire’s largest minority shareholder moves to fight Sprint takeover

A top Clearwire (CLWR) shareholder is waging a proxy war in an effort to stop Sprint’s proposed takeover of the troubled wireless provider, AllThingsD reported. Sprint (S) is looking to acquire Clearwire for $2.97 per share, however Crest Financial, Clearwire’s largest minority shareholder, believes the offer undervalues the company and its spectrum. The Houston-based investment company hired a proxy solicitation firm last month to help it fight the deal, and also sued Clearwire and its board for breaching their fiduciary duties. More →

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mobile
December 18, 2012
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Sprint Spectrum Holdings

Sprint poised to crush rivals’ spectrum holdings with Clearwire buy

By on December 18, 2012 at 7:28 PM.

Sprint poised to crush rivals’ spectrum holdings with Clearwire buy

Although Sprint (S) CEO Dan Hesse has in the past fought against consolidation of spectrum holdings in the wireless industry, he’s not nearly as concerned when it’s his own company doing the consolidating. As Quartz points out, Sprint is now poised to dominate mobile data spectrum holdings in the United States with its plan to fully acquire wireless broadband wholesaler Clearwire (CLWR). More →

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Business
December 17, 2012
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Breaking
Sprint Clearwire Acquisition

Sprint announces plans to acquire 100% stake in Clearwire

By on December 17, 2012 at 7:30 AM.

Sprint announces plans to acquire 100% stake in Clearwire

In line with earlier reports, Sprint (S) on Monday announced plans to acquire the remaining stake it did not already own in wireless broadband wholesaler Clearwire (CLWR). Sprint’s offer came in just north of earlier reports claiming the company would bid $2.90 per share, or $2.1 billion, which would value Clearwire at $4.2 billion. Sprint’s final bid came in at $2.97 per share, or $2.2 billion, and it pushes Clearwire’s valuation to $4.5 billion plus another $5.5 billion of net debt and spectrum lease obligations. The deal is subject to regulatory approval and to shareholder approval, and is expected to close next year. Sprint’s full press release follows below. More →

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mobile
December 11, 2012
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Rumor
Sprint

Sprint may finally buy Clearwire after all

By on December 11, 2012 at 8:45 PM.

Sprint may finally buy Clearwire after all

Sprint (S) is reportedly in talks to acquire the remaining stake in Clearwire (CLWR), according to CNBC. While a deal isn’t believed to be imminent, the two companies are involved in “active negotiations” and could announce an agreement before the end of the year. Sprint already owns a 50.8% stake in Clearwire and has long been rumored to be interested in a full acquisition of the company. CNBC’s sources note, however, that a potential deal is still “fraught with difficulty” due to the complexity of their relationship and Sprint’s pending deal to sell a majority stake to SoftBank. Shares of Clearwire reacted positively to the news, jumping nearly 15% to $2.75 per share.

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Business
October 18, 2012
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Sprint acquires a controlling 50.8% stake in Clearwire

By on October 18, 2012 at 8:35 AM.

Sprint acquires a controlling 50.8% stake in Clearwire

Sprint Acquires Clearwire

With Softbank (SFTBY) acquiring a 70% stake in Sprint (S), it was speculated by Bloomberg that the latter would be unlikely to push on with its efforts to buy  a controlling stake in Clearwire (CLWR). Reuters is now reporting that Sprint has “acquired control of Clearwire Corp after buying out one of the company’s other shareholders,” however. Sprint will purchase 31 million Class A shares and approximately 2.7 million Class B shares from Eagle River Holdings to boost the carrier’s total stake in Clearwire to a controlling 50.8%.

More →

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Business
October 17, 2012
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Sprint may not want to buy Clearwire after all

By on October 17, 2012 at 7:47 AM.

Sprint may not want to buy Clearwire after all

Sprint Clearwire Merger

One of the predicted benefits of the Softbank (SFTBY)-Sprint (S) merger is that Sprint will now have enough cash on hand to buy up Clearwire (CLWR), the troubled wireless company that has partnered with Sprint in the past and that has valuable spectrum that Sprint can use for its LTE network. But unnamed sources have told Bloomberg that such a merger is unlikely to happen in the foreseeable future because Sprint and Softbank have made it clear that their “priority is to close the deal” that they announced this week, which Bloomberg says “will take six to eight months.” Bloomberg’s sources also said that Sprint already has enough spectrum for its LTE network and that buying Clearwire would be too expensive. More →

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Services
March 19, 2012
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NetZero reinvents itself as America’s first free 4G service provider

By on March 19, 2012 at 7:30 AM.

NetZero reinvents itself as America’s first free 4G service provider

NetZero burst onto the scene in 1998 as the first in a crop of Internet service providers that gave subscribers free access to the Web using an advertising-supported model. NetZero’s patented ad technology displayed highly targeted ads to users as they browsed the Internet at dial-up speeds, but it was forced into a freemium model when a number of other ISPs began offering free Web access as well. NetZero continues to offer basic paid dial-up and broadband services, but now the company is going back to its roots in an effort to disrupt the wireless industry as it did to the dial-up industry nearly 14 years ago. More →

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mobile
February 27, 2012
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Sprint seeks an additional $2 billion from investors

By on February 27, 2012 at 2:50 PM.

Sprint seeks an additional $2 billion from investors

Sprint on Monday announced that the carrier is issuing another round of notes due in 2017 and 2020 in an attempt to generate approximately $2 billion in capital. The investment would allow Sprint to fund general operations, build out its LTE network and possibly help fund the Clearwire as it continues to struggle. “The company intends to use the net proceeds from the offering of the Notes for general corporate purposes, which may include, among other things, redemptions or service requirements of outstanding debt, network expansion and modernization and potential funding of Clearwire Corporation and its subsidiary Clearwire Communications LLC,” Sprint said. Read on for Sprint’s press release. More →

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mobile
February 24, 2012
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Google to sell stake in Clearwire at a huge loss

By on February 24, 2012 at 6:50 PM.

Google to sell stake in Clearwire at a huge loss

Google on Friday filed documents with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to sell its entire stake in Clearwire. The Mountain View-based company spent $500 million in 2008  to acquire a 6.5% stake in Clearwire, and now the search giant is now looking to sell its share for $47 million, less than a tenth of the original investment. Clearwire was the first company to roll out a 4G network in the U.S., however the WiMAX technology the network was built around failed to gain widespread adoption, with every major carrier instead deploying or looking to deploy 4G LTE service. Even Clearwire’s largest shareholder, Sprint, announced plans to launch a 4G LTE network in mid-2012. According to the SEC filing, Google will exit Clearwire in an effort to rebalance its investment portfolio. The sale is expected to close by the end of March. More →

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