Sprint Nextel Corp. closed on its $287.5 million acquisition of network affiliate Gulf Coast Wireless Ltd. Partnership. The closing resolves litigation Gulf Coast filed against Sprint Nextel in connection with Sprint Corp.’s acquisition of Nextel Communications Inc. Sprint Nextel announced plans to acquire Gulf Coast along with fellow affiliate IWO Holdings Inc. last month. The deals will add more than 330,000 direct customers to Sprint Nextel’s customer base. Sprint Nextel reported last month that it received antitrust clearance from the Federal Trade Commission for its pending $427 million acquisition of network affiliate IWO Holdings Inc. The deal still is subject to approval by IWO’s shareholders, but Sprint Nextel said it expects the transaction to close during the fourth quarter.
In other news, Sprint Nextel Corp. wireless affiliate Alamosa Holdings Inc. set a record date of Oct. 17 for the dividend payment on its 7.5-percent series B convertible preferred stock. The dividend payment will be made Oct. 31 at the annual rate of 7.5 percent of the $250 per share liquidation preference.
T-Mobile International AG expanded its agreement with Starbucks Corp. to Austria, allowing T-Mobile Austria to provide its HotSpot Wi-Fi service in eight of the nine Austrian Starbucks coffeehouses. T-Mobile and Starbucks now have agreements in every country in which both companies are active, and T-Mobile HotSpot is available at more than 4,000 Starbucks coffeehouses internationally. T-Mobile’s HotSpot service currently is offered at 13,600 total T-Mobile hot spots, as well as more than 3,000 roaming hot spots.
Regional wireless operator Dobson Communications Corp. entered into agreements with certain holders of its 12.25-percent and 13-percent senior exchangeable preferred stock that will exchange 8,700 shares of the 12.25-percent stock and 30,021 shares of the 13-percent stock for 5.982 million shares of Dobson’s class A common stock and $1.6 million in cash. Dobson noted the deal will result in the decrease of its outstanding liquidation preference of the 12.25-percent and 13-percent stock from $71.7 million to $33 million.
