Clearwire’s management, which had previously thrown its support behind Sprint Nextel’s attempt to acquire the remaining stake in its operations for $2.97 per share, was unsurprisingly just as enthused with the increased offer of $3.40 per share.
“The special committee of the board of directors determined that the revised offer, when compared with other potential transactions reasonably available to the company at this time, is the most favorable potential transaction to the company’s unaffiliated stockholders and that the terms of the revised offer are advisable, fair to and in the best interest of such stockholders,” Clearwire noted in a statement to investors. “The Clearwire board recommends that stockholders vote their shares for all of the proposals relating to the transaction with Sprint by returning the white proxy card with a ‘FOR’ vote for all proposals.”
Sprint Nextel increased its offer to acquire the near-50% stake in Clearwire it did not already own just hours before Clearwire investors were to vote on the original $2.2 billion deal. The increase also put Sprint Nextel’s offer ahead of a competing proposal set forth by Dish Network earlier this year that was itself an 11% premium over the original Sprint Nextel offer.
The new offer forced Clearwire to postpone the initial vote from May 21 to May 31.
Clearwire has become increasingly important to Sprint Nextel’s operational future, with current suitor Softbank noting the operational synergies that can be gleaned by its shared plans to launch TDD-LTE services running in the 2.5 GHz band. Sprint Nextel also this week announced a trio of devices with band support of Clearwire’s planned TDD-LTE offering running in the 2.5 GHz band.
Sprint Nextel itself is also just weeks away from its own vote on whether to approve Softbank’s $20.1 billion acquisition of a 70% stake in the company, which has been overshadowed by a $25.5 billion offer from Dish Network for a 68% stake in its operations. The vote on the Softbank proposal is scheduled for June 12.
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