![]()
- Analysis: APEC Nations Back Face-Saving Climate Plan
- Shift Into High-Quality Stocks Could Move Market Higher
- China: Low US Interest Rates Threaten Recovery
- Drug Study Questions Effectiveness of Merck's Drugs
- Buffett: I Haven't Bought AMEX Shares in Years
- Military Arms Race Dominates Dubai Air Show
- Disaster Film '2012' Drowns Rivals at Box Office
- Cities With the Most Home Price Reductions
- Cramer: 5 Earnings Reports to Watch Next Week
- CNBC Video: Warren Buffett & Bill Gates - Keeping American Great
- U.S. Stocks Rally for the Second Straight Week
- Dollar is Not Plunging—So 'Calm Down': Market Strategist
- Strategists Say Markets Have More Upside — But How Much?
- Hirschhorn: Risk-Averse Traders
- Roginsky: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Financial Reform
- This Year's Biggest Thanksgiving Leftover: Cash
- TV Series Inks Unique Deal For Fight
- First Time Buyers Rescue Housing: Realtors
MOST SHARED
- U.S. May Wind Up Green With Envy
- Japan Third Quarter GDP Jumps; 2010 Growth May Slow
- CNBC Video: Warren Buffett & Bill Gates - Keeping American Great
- Disaster Film '2012' Drowns Rivals at Box Office
- For Investors, The New Green Looks To Be White
- Dipping Into Green Investing
- CNBC TRANSCRIPT: Warren Buffett & Bill Gates - Keeping America Great
- The Cost of Thanksgiving Dinner 2009
- Analysis: APEC Nations Back Face-Saving Climate Plan
Clearwire and Sprint Nextel will combine their wireless broadband units to create a $14.55 billion communications company.
The new company, to be named Clearwire, will receive a $3.2 billion investment from Intel [INTC
Loading...
()
], Google [GOOG
Loading...
()
], Comcast [CMCSA
Loading...
()
], Time Warner Cable [TWC
Loading...
()
] and Bright House Networks.
The investment is based on a target price of $20 per Clearwire share and will give the companies a 22 percent stake in the new venture.
![]() |
Overland Park, Kan.-based Sprint Nextel [S
Loading...
()
] will be majority owner with a 51 percent equity stake, while existing Clearwire shareholders will receive about 27 percent interest.
Clearwire [CLWR
Loading...
()
], which will concentrate on rolling out a mobile network based on the emerging WiMAX standard, will also receive an investment from Trilogy Equity Partners, led by U.S. wireless industry veteran John Stanton.
WiMAX promises faster download speeds than the latest networks run by cell-phone operators, and it's even seen as a potential competitor to fixed-line broadband.
Rivals such as AT&T [T
Loading...
()
] and Verizon Wireless [VZ
Loading...
()
] have eschewed WiMax, opting instead for upgrades to their current wireless broadband networks and a future technology called Long Term Evolution.
Clearwire already provides wireless Internet service in some parts of the country, using a WiMax-like technology.
The company had a subscriber base of nearly 400,000 wireless broadband customers at the end of 2007.
The new company is looking for a U.S. network deployment between 120 million and 140 million people by the end of 2010.
Sprint and Clearwire, a startup founded by cellular pioneer Craig McCaw, had already announced their plans to build out networks using WiMAX technology, but had been looking for outside funding.
The new company will be led by Clearwire Chief Executive Benjamin Wolff, with Sprint Chief Technology Officer Barry West serving as president. West also leads Sprint's XOHM division.
The Kirkland, Wash.-based venture will house workers from Clearwire and Sprint's XOHM unit and will have research and development and other operations located in Herndon, Va.
Its board will consist of 13 members at the start. Sprint will name seven of them, which will include at least one independent director. The investor group will name four members, including one independent.
Eagle River, a private investment company controlled by wireless veteran Craig McCaw, will name one member, with the remaining independent member selected by Clearwire's nominating committee. McCaw is expected to serve as non-executive chairman.
Other anticipated board members include Sprint President and CEO Dan Hesse, Comcast Chairman and CEO Brian Roberts, Time Warner Cable President and CEO Glen Britt and Stanton.
The deal, which has been approved by the boards of all companies involved, is expected to close during the fourth quarter.
The company will apply for a Nasdaq listing under the ticker "CLWR." Clearwire shares jumped 7.4 percent, or $1.22, to $17.68 at the open of trade.
Sprint shares rose 4.5 percent, or 41 cents, to $9.60.
- Where, what, how.
- Warren Buffett and Bill Gates spoke to Columbia students, and Buffett made the students a startling offer.
- For the chief of cable company Comcast, growth has been about making deals – generally very large deals.
- Some companies may start using insurance to shift carbon risk from their balance sheets to maybe... yours?
- The president and founder of Genesis Today wants to improve America’s health, and thinks Wal-Mart can help.
- Switzerland's privacy watchdog is taking legal action to force Google to make changes to its Street View service.














