By Thomas Gryta
Clearwire Corp. (CLWR) hasn't had "substantive discussions" with
Dish Network Corp. (DISH) since last month, according to a
regulatory filing that comes as Clearwire tries to bolster its
contention that selling itself to majority owner Sprint Nextel
Corp. (S) is its best option.
The mobile broadband provider said late Wednesday that talks
with Dish stopped when that company made a surprise $25.5 billion
offer for Sprint last month. Clearwire added that it doesn't
believe Dish was likely to bid more than Sprint's increased offer
of $3.40 a share, made on Tuesday. Sprint raised its offer from
$2.97 a share after pressure from Clearwire shareholders, who
seemed poised to reject the first bid.
Clearwire also said it hadn't received an actionable proposal
from Verizon Wireless, which had put in a preliminary bid of $1
billion to $1.5 billion for certain Clearwire spectrum leases. That
price would have provided net proceeds of $550 million to $850
million, Clearwire said Wednesday.
Clearwire has projected it would need $2 billion to $4 billion
in cash if it remains independent, but it may not be able to put
much more debt on its balance sheet. Despite being able to appoint
a majority of board seats, Sprint may not be able to keep Clearwire
out of bankruptcy if its takeover fails.
A Dish spokesman declined to comment. Officials from Verizon
Wireless, a joint venture of Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) and
Vodafone Group Plc (VOD VOD.LN), weren't immediately available for
comment.
In December, Sprint agreed to buy the rest of Clearwire that it
doesn't own for $2.2 billion, or $2.97 a share. The next month,
satellite TV company Dish bid $3.30 a share, and Clearwire shares
traded above the initial Sprint bid until Tuesday's revised
offer.
Sprint, which has agreed to sell a 70% stake of itself to
Japan's SoftBank Corp. (9984.TO), has expressed confidence in
closing the Clearwire deal by July 1. Clearwire's board has
continued to support the Sprint agreement.
Sprint said earlier this week that it agreed to enter into
negotiations with Dish but hasn't changed its support of the
SoftBank deal.
Crest Financial, running a proxy campaign against the Sprint
deal for Clearwire, is pushing for Clearwire to remain independent
and is suing to block the Sprint deal. On Tuesday, the firm
criticized the Clearwire board and urged it reject the new offer so
Clearwire can hold a new sale process when the takeover battle for
Sprint is more clear.
Earlier Wednesday, a group of Clearwire shareholders also
rejected the latest takeover offer from Sprint as too low.
The investors--Mount Kellett Capital Management, Highside
Capital Management, Glenview Capital Management and Chesapeake
Partners Management--joined together earlier this month to push for
a higher buyout price.
Sprint owns more than 50% of Clearwire and needs a majority of
other shareholders to back the deal.
Write to Thomas Gryta at thomas.gryta@dowjones.com
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires