Clearwire Corporation shareholder Crest Financial will ask the US telecoms regulator to block Sprint Nextel’s proposed acquisition of the rest of Clearwire, and has also moved to oppose Softbank’s bid to buy 70% of Sprint.
Crest, which owns roughly…
Clearwire Corporation shareholder Crest Financial will ask the US telecoms regulator to block Sprint Nextel’s proposed acquisition of the rest of Clearwire, and has also moved to oppose Softbank’s bid to buy 70% of Sprint.
Crest, which owns roughly 8% of Clearwire’s outstanding stock, is fiercely opposed to Sprint’s offer of US$2.97 for each outstanding share agreed with Clearwire’s board in December.
In a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) filing published on 31 December, Crest’s counsel said it would be filing a petition to deny the US$2.1bn Sprint/Clearwire transaction.
Late last week, on a call with US reporters, the activist investor also reportedly said that it planned to file a complaint against Softbank’s US$20.1bn deal to buy 70% of Sprint.
A Crest representative alleged that Sprint had artificially pushed down the price of Clearwire’s spectrum, and that this in turn threatened to devalue future government auctions of spectrum.
Crest has previously said it believes Sprint’s offer significantly undervalues Clearwire and doesn’t reflect the value of its spectrum holdings.
Sprint’s offer represents a premium of 128% on Clearwire’s closing share price the day before Softbank’s takeover discussions with Sprint were revealed.
Last month Clearwire filed a class action lawsuit against Sprint on behalf of minority shareholders.
Fellow minority investor Mount Kellett Capital Management has also opposed the potential deal, saying Sprint’s offer “grossly” undervalued Clearwire.
Meanwhile Clearwire’s spectrum rival Dish Networks submitted a filing to the FCC in December to ask for a three week extension to file petitions against the Sprint/Softbank deal, in light of Sprint’s Clearwire offer.
One of the questions Dish asked the regulator in its filing was whether or not it was appropriate for a foreign company – Softbank – to control more spectrum below 3GHz in the US than any other company.
Clearwire’s substantial spectrum holdings are understood to be a key part of Softbank’s plans to expand Sprint and take on the duopoly of AT&T and Verizon Wireless.
