WHEN: TODAY, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2012
WHERE: CNBC'S "FAST MONEY HALFTIME REPORT "
Following is the unofficial transcript of breaking news from CNBC's David Faber. All references must be sourced to CNBC.
Video: Sprint Working to Acquire ClearWire: Sources
: LETS GET RIGHT OVER TO DAVID FABER WHO HAS MORE DEVELOPMENTS ON THAT SPRINT STORY, DAVID.
DAVID FABER : THANKS VERY MUCH SCOTT. OF COURSE ONE OF THE KEY STORIES OF THE MORNING HAS BEEN THOSE REPORTS THAT WE HAVE GIVEN YOU THAT HAVE BEEN CONFIRMED BY SPRINT THAT IT IS IN TALKS WITH SOFTBANK OF JAPAN FOR SOFTBANK TO ACQUIRE A CONTROL POSITION IN THE COMPANY. I CAN TELL YOU THOUGH THE SOURCES CLOSE TO THE DEAL TELL ME THAT AS A RESULT OF THE LEAKS, WHICH FIRST TOOK PLACE IN THE JAPANESE MEDIA, THE CHANCES OF THE DEAL ITSELF HAD BEEN SOMEWHAT REDUCED. NOW IT DEPENDS ON WHO YOU TALK TO, THOSE CHANCES STILL SEEN AS A BIT BETTER I WOULD SAY CONSENSUS WISE THAN 50 50, BUT NONETHELESS AGAIN THOSE CHANCES THEY SAY HAVE BEEN REDUCED AS A RESULT OF THE LEAK. THE HOPE THOUGH IS STILL THEY CAN GET THROUGH THIS PERIOD NOW THAT IT IS IN THE PUBLIC REALM AND COBBLE TOGETHER A DEAL THAT THEY WOULD ANNOUNCE IN THE NEXT WEEK OR TWO. I DID WANT TO GET SPECIFICALLY ALSO BACK TO AN ISSUE I HAD RAISED EARLIER IN MY INITIAL REPORTS ABOUT CLEARWIRE AND CLARIFY SOMETHING THAT I REPORTED INCORRECTLY. SOFTBANK IS NOT IN TALKS TO ACQUIRE CLEARWIRE. HOWEVER, SPRINT WHICH ALREADY OWNS ABOUT 48/49 % THE COMPANY, IS IN TALKS TO DO THE SAME TO ACQUIRE CLEARWIRE AS PART OF THIS DEAL A VERY COMPLEX DEAL AS YOU CAN SEE. NOW SOFTBANK DOES HAVE A NEED FOR SPRINT TO HAVE CONTROL OF CLEARWIRE'S BOARD AND IT DOES APPEAR THAT SPRINT IS GOING ABOUT THAT BY HAVING DISCUSSIONS AIMED AT ACQUIRING CLEARWIRE WHICH, WHILE IT DOES OWN A LOT OF, DOES NOT OWN THE MAJORITY OF SOME OF WHICH IS STILL HELD BY CABLE COMPANIES AND THE LIKE INCLUDING OF COURSE AS WELL SOME PUBLIC SHAREHOLDERS SO I DID WANT TO CLARIFY THAT WHEN IT COMES TO CLEARWIRE. AND FINALLY OF COURSE, WE HAVE SEEN SHARES OF SPRINT EXCUSE ME METROPCS DOWN SHARPLY TODAY AND I CAN TELL YOU THAT SPRINT DID NOT CONSIDER A BID TO COME OVER THE TOP ON A DEAL. THAT HAS BEEN DONE BETWEEN T-MOBILE AND METROPCS AS HAS BEEN REPORTED BY SOME OTHER OUTLETS LAST WEEK. AS I HAVE BEEN REPORTING, T-MOBILE WAS AN IMPORTANT COMPONENT OF THESE TALKS WHEN THEY FIRST BEGAN THIS SUMMER BETWEEN BOTH T-MOBILE AND SPRINT. SPRINT'S BEEN VERY DISAPPOINTED THAT T-MOBILE PERHAPS STILL TRAUMATIZED FROM ITS FAILURE TO GET ACQUIRED BY AT&T CHOSE TO PULL OUT OF THE TALKS BECAUSE IT WAS WORRIED ABOUT GOVERNMENT DISAPPROVAL OF ANY POTENTIAL DEAL AND SO THEY WENT THEIR OWN WAY. SCOTT A LOT OF MOVING PARTS HERE. WE WILL SEE WHERE IT ALL ENDS UP OF COURSE AND IT STILL IS TALKS WITH AIM AT A 70'S PERCENTAGE OWNERSHIP BY SOFTBANK IN SPRINT. SOFTBANK BEEN VERY SUCCESSFUL IN JAPAN IN TERMS OF ROLLING OUT LTE.
About CNBC: With CNBC in the U.S., CNBC in Asia Pacific, CNBC in Europe, Middle East and Africa, CNBC World and CNBC HD , CNBC is the recognized world leader in business news and provides real-time financial market coverage and business information to more than 395 million homes worldwide, including more than 100 million households in the United States and Canada. CNBC also provides daily business updates to 400 million households across China. The network's 16 live hours a day of business programming in North America (weekdays from 4:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. ET) is produced at CNBC's global headquarters in Englewood Cliffs, N.J., and includes reports from CNBC News bureaus worldwide.
CNBC also has a vast portfolio of digital products which deliver real-time financial market news and information across a variety of platforms. These include CNBC.com, the online destination for global business; CNBC PRO, the premium, integrated desktop/mobile service that provides real-time global market data and live access to CNBC global programming; and a suite of CNBC Mobile products including the CNBC Real-Time iPhone and iPad Apps.
Members of the media can receive more information about CNBC and its programming on the NBC Universal Media Village Web site at http://www.nbcumv.com/mediavillage/networks/cnbc/