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To: JohnG who wrote (56566)	12/23/1999 10:33:00 PM
From: idler	Respond to of 152472

December 23, 1999 Nextel Says It Will Abandon Its $8.3 Billion Bid for NextWave By NICOLE HARRIS Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL Nextel Communications Inc. withdrew its $8.3 billion hostile bid for NextWave Telecommunications Inc., a wireless communications company that has been operating under bankruptcy protection since last year. Nextel, Reston, Va., disclosed its plans in a 8K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday afternoon. The announcement came just two days after Nextel first provided detailed plans for a bid in a similar SEC filing. The disclosure is the latest in a series of news events and a string of key court decisions surrounding NextWave, a company that filed for bankruptcy protection after it failed to make payments to the Federal Communications Commission for its wireless spectrum. NextWave bid $4.74 billion for the wireless spectrum. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in December 1998 after it couldn't make payments to the FCC. Nextel's about-face comes after a key court decision that upheld the FCC's sweeping jurisdiction over the wireless licenses. The U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a bankruptcy court ruling that had valued NextWave's spectrum at $1.02 billion, less than a quarter of what it bid. In a strongly worded decision handed down late Wednesday, the court ruled that the FCC has "exclusive jurisdiction" over NextWave's wireless licenses. The ruling set the stage for the wireless licenses to be returned to the FCC for re-auction. People close to the situation say Nextel withdrew its bid after the court decision raised the possibility that the FCC could regain control of the licenses. Nextel was "offering dollars to constituents who were thought to be the rightful owners of the licenses," said one person close to the situation. "The court decision made it clear that not only does the FCC have the right to reclaim the licenses but it also can make NextWave pay their debt in full and hit them with penalties," this person said. Last week, NextWave, Hawthorne, N.Y., said it had raised $1.6 billion from a host of investors including Global Crossing Ltd. and Liberty Media Corp. The company said it intended to use the funds to emerge from bankruptcy-court protection. Under Nextel's withdrawn offer for NextWave, the Federal Communications Commission would have received a $5.3 billion cash payment. NextWave equity owners would have received $2.5 billion in Nextel common stock, and the NextWave creditors would have been paid $500 million in cash. NextWave couldn't be reached for comment. Nextel declined to comment on its filing Thursday, saying it needed time to further review the court decision. FCC officials couldn't be reached for comment. Thursday, shares of Nextel rose $8.4375 to close at $105 at 4 p.m. on the Nasdaq Stock Market.