Sprint Nextel has secured control of Clearwire, the wireless network operator that holds valuable spectrum, according to a regulatory filing on Thursday.þþThe filing shows that Sprint agreed on Wednesday to acquire the interests in Clearwire held by Craig McCaw’s Eagle River Holdings. The transfer of Class A shares and Class B interests gives Sprint a majority stake of 50.8 percent of Clearwire.þþThe agreement simplifies a relationship with Clearwire that has complicated the service provider’s attempts to overhaul its network. It comes as Sprint is preparing to sell a 70 percent stake in itself to the big Japanese cellphone provider and Internet company SoftBank, for $20.1 billion.þþTaking control of Clearwire was not a necessity for the completion of the SoftBank transaction, which is expected to close by the middle of next year, pending regulatory approval. And it may not consist of buying out other investors’ stakes in the company altogether: one person briefed on the matter suggested that Sprint could buy the voting rights of some of its partners.þþBut Sprint and SoftBank also have not ruled out pursuing a full acquisition, after their own deal closes.þþShares in Clearwire rose 1.7 percent in premarket trading on Thursday, to $30.þþFounded in 2003 by Mr. McCaw, a pioneer in the wireless services industry, Clearwire already handles some data traffic for Sprint customers. But it has long faced financial difficulty, requiring several cash infusions from outside investors.þþWhile the company focused on a wireless data standard that has been supplanted by Long Term Evolution, or LTE, it holds valuable spectrum that Sprint and its prospective new owner covet.þþThat wireless resource could be used to develop Sprint’s LTE data network, which would support newer devices like the Apple iPhone 5 and various Android devices.þþBuilding out that network is among the most important goals that SoftBank has for Sprint. The Japanese company’s chief executive, Masayoshi Son, has devised a strategy that revolves in large part around building the same sort of high-speed data infrastructure that he is creating in his home market.þþMr. Son believes having a reliable and fast network would allow Sprint to better take on the two major wireless service providers in the United States, Verizon Wireless and AT&T.þþ“U.S. citizens don’t have this experience of high speed,” Mr. Son said on a conference call with analysts on Monday. “We’re going to bring that to the States.”þþThrough a number of investments, Sprint previously had about 48 percent of Clearwire, and the right to fill seven seats on the company’s 13-member board. But without greater control over the wireless broadband provider, Sprint ran the risk of losing control of one of its most important partners.þ
Source: NY Times
