These stockholders have also agreed to sell their shares to Sprint in the event the transaction does not close. Together with the voting commitments previously received from Comcast Corp. Sprint expects a majority of the non-Sprint stockholders to support the Clearwire merger based on these agreements and the votes of shareholders with both Sprint and Clearwire shareholdings who have already voted in favor of the Sprint SoftBank transaction. In addition to the increased price per share, the companies have further amended the merger agreement that was previously entered into.
In the event the transaction is not completed, Clearwire has agreed to hold its annual shareholder meeting as expeditiously as possible and if the transaction is not completed under certain circumstances, Clearwire has agreed to waive the current standstill provision in the Equityholders' Agreement between Sprint, Clearwire, and the company's strategic investors.
That standstill provision was originally set to expire on November 28, The revised offer demonstrates Sprint's commitment to closing the Clearwire transaction and improving its competitive position in the U. Sprint is uniquely positioned to leverage Clearwire's 2. Sprint's Network Vision architecture should allow for better strategic alignment and the full utilization and integration of Clearwire's complementary 2.
While Sprint had a majority stake in Clearwire, the relationship was structured so that the Clearwire board acted independently. That structure ensured Clearwire's board would act in the best interest of the company and all of its shareholders, and not just Sprint. But it also resulted in some drama in the past. What kind of drama?
Sprint and Clearwire famously clashed over the price that Sprint had to pay to run on Clearwire's network. Clearwire felt that Sprint was underpaying for the amount of traffic it ran on Clearwire's network, while Sprint believed that it was getting squeezed by a company with little leverage.
The result was stalled talks and Clearwire nearly losing its ability to meet its financial obligations as Sprint balked at paying a higher rate. It publicly manifested itself when Sprint unveiled its own 4G LTE plans and said start-up LightSquared would be its partner in moving to the next-generation network. It didn't hurt that LightSquare imploded under the weight of regulatory scrutiny over potential interference on GPS devices from its network.
OK, but what does this mean for Sprint and Clearwire customers? For now, not a lot. Sprint will continue to support and use Clearwire's WiMax network for existing customers with older phones, although Hesse said that the equipment would eventually be replaced with LTE radios. Clearwire also has a small number of wholesale customers, including the recently unveiled FreedomPop home broadband service.
Prusch wouldn't get into specific plans, but he said the smaller wholesale customers occupy a unique niche in the wireless industry, which bodes well for them. Ultimately, once Clearwire gets its 4G LTE network up and running, Sprint could see better coverage and less congestion.
O , one of Clearwire's shareholders, has received a notice of right of first offer from Eagle River and has 30 days to respond, Intel spokesman Chuck Mulloy told Reuters.
Shareholders receive the right to buy the stake before anyone else under first offer. N said it was selling its stake in Clearwire following the cable company's agreement to sell spectrum to Verizon Wireless, an opportunity Intel could have taken to buy more shares of Clearwire if it wanted, D. A Sprint spokesman said all other shareholders had the right to first offer. He declined to comment on whether Sprint had received any indication on how the other shareholders would decide.
We use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience on our site, show personalized content and targeted ads, analyze site traffic, and understand where our audiences come from. To learn more or opt-out, read our Cookie Policy. This comes just one day after SoftBank and Sprint announced their merger would be complete on July 10th and less than a week since the FCC gave both deals its blessing.
Sprint was already a majority shareholder in Clearwire, but now the carrier — and thus Sprint's new owner, SoftBank — now owns percent of the company. It's a key acquisition for Sprint, as the carrier plans to use Clearwire's spectrum to continue building out its LTE network. This week's news also makes two of Dish's planned acquisitions official failures — the company had hoped to purchase both Sprint and Clearwire, and submitted aggressive bids to do so.
But plans for both the Sprint and Clearwire purchases fell through in late June, paving the way for SoftBank and Sprint to continue unabated. It remains to be seen what exactly Dish will try next to gain a foothold in the wireless marketplace — but it'll have to find other partners to realize that dream.
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