A Sprint Nextel Corp. spokesman confirmed that the carrier has received antitrust clearance from the Federal Trade Commission for its pending $427 million acquisition of network affiliate IWO Holdings Inc. The deal is still subject to approval by IWO’s shareholders, but Sprint Nextel said it expects the transaction to close during the fourth quarter.
Sprint Nextel announced plans to acquire IWO along with fellow affiliate Gulf Coast Wireless L.P. earlier this month. The deals will add more than 330,000 direct customers to Sprint Nextel’s customer base, and more importantly, clears up pending litigation that was initiated following Sprint Corp.’s acquisition of Nextel Communications Inc. last month.
Sprint Nextel also is reportedly close to resolving similar issues with its largest affiliate Alamosa Holdings Inc. Zachary Investment Research analyst Patrick Comack sent a research note to clients earlier this week claiming a hearing on Alamosa’s lawsuit against Sprint Nextel was removed from a court calendar. Comack added that he expects either an acquisition of Alamosa or a reaffiliation agreement to be announced within the next several days.
In addition to its deals with IWO and Gulf Coast, Sprint Nextel has acquired affiliate US Unwired Inc. and is in the process of determining the value of a possible acquisition of Nextel Partners Inc.
