US WiMAX provider Clearwire is planning to offer US$300m of its shares in a public offering and also expects to give the underwriters a 30-day option to buy up to an additional US$45m of its shares.
According to a statement by Clearwire Corporation, the…
US WiMAX provider Clearwire is planning to offer US$300m of its shares in a public offering and also expects to give the underwriters a 30-day option to buy up to an additional US$45m of its shares.
According to a statement by Clearwire Corporation, the holding company of internet provider Clearwire Communications, both of these transactions refer to Clearwire’s Class A common stock.
Mobile operator Sprint Nextel, which holds a 54% stake in Clearwire, has already agreed to exercise its pro rata pre-emptive rights with the offering..
Sprint will buy shares of Clearwire Corporation’s Class B common stock and a corresponding number of Class B common interests in Clearwire Communications.
Sprint’s purchase will take place in a private transaction, Clearwire said, without giving precise details on how many shares Sprint will buy.
Speaking to TelecomFinance, a Sprint spokesman confirmed that Sprint would buy US$295m of Clearwire’s Class B shares.
Clearwire said that it plans to use the proceeds of the offering for general corporate and working capital purposes, which include “the deployment of mobile 4G LTE technology alongside the mobile 4G WiMAX technology currently on its network and for the operation and maintenance of its networks”.
The joint bookrunners are BoA Merrill Lynch, Jefferies & Company and JP Morgan.
On 1 December, Clearwire and Sprint announced that they had come to an agreement und which Sprint will provide Clearwire with investment of up to US$1.6bn over the coming years.
Part of the agreement focussed on the potential equity funding for Clearwire.
The companies said at the time that, if Clearwire raised between US$400m and US$700m in new equity, then Sprint would participate on a pro rata basis in the offering with up to US$347m.
This proposed participation would be equal to Sprint’s voting stake in Clearwire (49.6%).
