Search giant Google has filed SEC documents with the intent to sell off their stake in Clearwire. Google purchased a 6.5 percent stake in the wireless network company less than four years ago but executives are now prepared to wash their hands of the deal by selling their investment for less than 10 percent of what they originally paid.
As part of a consortium that includes Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Intel and Bright House Networks, Google invested $500 million in Clearwire in 2008 which netted them just north of 29 million shares. At the time, Clearwire looked to be a solid buy as its 4G WiMAX wireless network was poised to be the next big thing with wireless carriers.
That never happened as 4G LTE has become the accepted standard nationwide, leaving Clearwire struggling to make ends meet. Sprint owns a majority stake in the company at 58 percent and recently came to the rescue with a $1.6 billion reinvestment deal spanning the next four years.
Google is prepared to sell their entire stake in Clearwire for $1.60 per share, or a total of $47 million. Current market value for Clearwire stock sits at $2.14 as of writing, meaning Google is prepared to offer the stock below market value. The company didn’t give a reason as to why they were relinquishing their stake in Clearwire.
The shares will first be offered to other Clearwire investors before being made public on the open market on February 27.
https://www.techspot.com/news/47561-google-to-sell-stake-in-clearwire-for-47-million.html
