Clearwire Corporation (NASDAQ:CLWR), which is currently debating offers from two different suitors to buy it out, has just revealed that its CEO learned of the deal between Sprint Nextel Corporation (NYSE:S) and Softbank Corp. (PINK:SFTBF) (TYO:9984) from news reports. Sprint Nextel Corporation (NYSE:S) made the initial offer to buy out Clearwire just a few days before the news reports about Softbank Corp. (PINK:SFTBF) (TYO:9984)’s deal to buy 70 percent of Sprint.
When the media reports of the Sprint-Softbank deal emerged, Clearwire Corporation’s CEO called Sprint Nextel Corporation (NYSE:S)’s CEO, who then said they didn’t have “the financial resources necessary for such a transaction.” He also said that if Sprint made a deal with Softbank Corp. (PINK:SFTBF) (TYO:9984), it would then have the money to buy Clearwire Corporation. That’s when Clearwire’s CEO called the chairman of DISH Network Corp. (NASDAQ:DISH), because the two companies had already been in discussions.
This entire story came out in the proxy filing Clearwire made this week. That filing also indicated that Clearwire has been in talks with eight other companies at various times in the past two years.
So which deal will Clearwire Corporation (NASDAQ:CLWR) end up taking? Investors seem to be guessing that the company won’t be taking the $2.97 per share offer from Sprint, as the stock is currently trading around $3.20 per share. Of course that doesn’t necessarily mean that Sprint Nextel Corporation (NYSE:S) won’t increase its offer, although Softbank Corp. (PINK:SFTBF) (TYO:9984) did cap Sprint’s offer at $2.97 per share toward the end of 2012.
Just when you think you’ve heard it all about this story, more information comes out. We’ll have to just wait and see how far each of these companies will go to acquire the valuable and extremely limited wireless spectrum Clearwire Corporation (NASDAQ:CLWR) currently controls.
