Sprint Nears Deal With Clearwire
$12 Billion Joint Venture Secures Backing From Intel, Google and Cable Operators
By AMOL SHARMA and VISHESH KUMAR
May 6, 2008 4:51 p.m.
Sprint Nextel Corp. and Clearwire Corp. are close to announcing a $12 billion joint venture that plans to roll out ultra fast wireless Internet access for cellphones and laptops in coming years, with the backing of an unlikely alliance of technology and cable companies.
Sprint has agreed to merge its wireless broadband unit with Clearwire, a Kirkland, Wash., firm founded by cellphone pioneer Craig McCaw. The new company has raised a total of $3.2 billion in outside financing from several heavyweights – $1.05 billion from cable provider Comcast Corp., $1 billion from Intel Corp., $550 million from Time Warner Cable Inc. and $500 million from Internet giant Google Inc. Smaller cable provider Bright House contributed $100 million. The investments value the new company at more than $12 billion.
Final approval needed from the investors was received Tuesday, says one person familiar with the deal. An announcement could come as soon as Wednesday, people familiar with the matter said. The Wall Street Journal reported on the outlines of the deal in late March.
The deal, which still requires approval from regulators, would give cable operators and Google prominent roles in shaping the future of mobile Internet access and a new platform for their content and services as growth begins to slow in their traditional businesses. For Intel, it breaths life into WiMax, a technology standard the company has championed that will be used by the new venture to provide high-speed wireless signals.
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