UPDATE 1-Clearwire in $80 million financing deal with Sprint

Feb 27 (Reuters) - Clearwire Corp said on Wednesday it will draw on $80 million in financing from Sprint Nextel Corp , which wants to buy out the company, even though Clearwire said it will continue talks with rival bidder Dish Networks Corp .

Dish offered to buy Clearwire for $3.30 per share in January, challenging Sprint's December agreement to buy out the wireless service provider for $2.97 per share.

Clearwire shares fell 2.2 percent to $3.13 in premarket trading.

Many Clearwire shareholders said they were unhappy with the offer price from Sprint, which already owns a majority stake in Clearwire. Sprint needs approval from the majority of Clearwire's minority shareholders to go ahead with its deal.

Clearwire had declined $160 million in convertible financing from Sprint in January and February because it was reviewing the Dish offer.

It did not explain how it would continue talks with Dish despite the decision to draw on Sprint financing next month.

Clearwire said that a special board committee "will pursue the course of action that it believes is in the best interests of Clearwire's non-Sprint Class A stockholders."