Sprint completed its acquisition of Clearwire. Each Clearwire share of Class A common stock was converted into the right to receive $5.00 per share in cash. The acquisition brings full control over Clearwire’s considerable spectrum resources.
The deal was first announced on December 17, 2012 and negotiations continued until Sprint’s final offer of June 20th.
Sprint has argued that its Network Vision architecture will be able to take full advantage of Clearwire’s complementary 2.5 GHz spectrum assets, while achieving operational efficiencies and improved service for customers as the spectrum and network is migrated to LTE standards.
- Clearwire holds the largest spectrum portfolio in the U.S. but in upper bands. Its spectrum is an average 163 MHz in the top 100 U.S. markets.
- Clearwire operates a nationwide WiMAX network and has been planning to make the transition to TD-LTE. Its main wholesale customer and investor is Sprint, which has extended its 4G agreement through 2015. The companies have outlined ways of bridging their FD-LTE and TD-LTE networks with dual-mode devices that are under development.