Sprint Nextel’s bid to buy remaining control of Clearwire “significantly”...
Sprint Nextel’s bid to buy remaining control of Clearwire “significantly” undervalues the “true value of Clearwire’s technology opportunities and wireless spectrum holdings,” said former FCC Commissioner Harold Furchtgott-Roth and the Analysis Group in a study commissioned by Clearwire shareholder Crest…
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Financial. Crest submitted the study to the FCC as part of the commission’s review of Sprint’s proposed buyout, which Crest officially opposes (http://bit.ly/XGiB4l). The study supports the argument Crest has made in other FCC filings that “Sprint’s acquisition of Clearwire would harm not only Clearwire shareholders but also the public at large,” Crest said in a news release. “The public would be better served if Clearwire was able to offer its spectrum to multiple customers.” Sprint’s offer of $2.97 per share for Clearwire is well below valuations estimated by two firms advising Clearwire’s board, the report said. The two firms valued Clearwire’s remaining stock at between $9.54 and $15.50 per share, the report said. Sprint’s offer also “fails to account for Clearwire’s unique ability to deploy wireless technology that offers far greater future value than the technology currently offered by most major U.S. carriers,” the report said. Clearwire controls the 2.5 GHz band, “the only band of spectrum in the U.S. that can be developed for TDD-LTE services,” the report said. Sprint’s offer ignores “both the value ascribed to similar spectrum in recent transactions and the fact that Clearwire’s spectrum holdings, together with its technology offerings, are well-suited for use by multiple carriers,” Crest said. A Sprint spokesman declined to comment on the Crest study, but noted that a study it released last week showed that “due to the varying characteristics of the 2.5 GHz spectrum, the Sprint-Clearwire merger agreement provides a reasonable valuation of the 2.5 GHz spectrum, with a substantial premium over the high-end valuation” (http://bit.ly/ZjU0Ai).