Clearwire Corporation (NASDAQ:CLWR) board announced today that Sprint Nextel Corporation (NYSE:S)’s revised and enhanced bid is the right deal for the company.
Clearwire Board approved the revised offer from Sprint:
In today’s statement, Clearwire Corporation (NASDAQ:CLWR) announced that its Special Committee and Board of Directors have approved the revised offer from Sprint Nextel Corporation (NYSE:S) to acquire the roughly 50 percent stake that Sprint doesn’t already own.
Yesterday, the number three operator in the U.S., Sprint Nextel Corporation (NYSE:S) upped the takeover ante in the wake of a competing bid by DISH Network Corp (NASDAQ:DISH). Sprint enhanced its offer price from $2.97 per share to $3.40, which is 10 percent higher than the $3.30 per share unsolicited offer made by Dish.
The revised offer values Clearwire at $10.7 billion and represents a 14 percent increase over the earlier bid announced in December. Yesterday Sprint disclosed that Clearwire has received commitments from Comcast, Intel and Bright House Networks, who own about 26 percent of Clearwire’s minority shares, to vote for the transaction.
According to today’s statement released by Clearwire, its Special Committee feels the revised offer from Sprint Nextel Corporation (NYSE:S) is the most favorable potential transaction to the company’s unaffiliated stockholders.
Clearwire Corporation (NASDAQ:CLWR) also considers the revised offer as fair to and in the best interest of its unaffiliated stockholders.
It may be recalled, Clearwire’s board of directors agreed to Sprint’s offer in December, but some minority shareholders in Clearwire considered the deal would undervalue the company and threatened to reject the deal.
During January, DISH Network Corp (NASDAQ:DISH) upped the takeover ante on Clearwire to $3.30 per share, besting Sprint’s earlier offer of $2.97 per share.
Sprint’s CEO Dan Hesse indicated on Tuesday that its latest bid is his company’s ‘best and final’ offer.
The number three operator in the U.S. already owns roughly half of Clearwire Corporation (NASDAQ:CLWR), which has been its partner for 4G WiMax service since 2008. Sprint plans to use Clearwire’s spectrum to beef up its new LTE network. Further Clearwire has key wireless airwaves licenses that would help Sprint Nextel Corporation (NYSE:S) compete better against larger rivals.
Clearwire Corporation (NASDAQ:CLWR) shareholders had been scheduled to vote on Sprint Nextel Corporation (NYSE:S)’s offer at a special meeting Tuesday, but the meeting has now been postponed to May 31.
