Sprint on Tuesday announced the successful completion of its acquisition of Clearwire. The merger was first announced in December 2012 and approved by shareholders during a special meeting yesterday. The transaction closed and became effective today, Sprint said in a press release on the matter.
Sprint previously owned just over half of Clearwire but had ambitions to own 100 percent of the company. They opened the negotiations at $2.97 per share for Clearwire but that wasn't enough to get shareholders interested. Following a bid from Dish, Sprint increased the bid to $5 which put a smile on shareholders' faces and forced Dish to withdrawal their bid.
As per the agreement, common stock of Clearwire will no longer be listed for trading on the NASDAQ and the company expects no further trading after the close of business today. Each share of Class A common stock in Clearwire automatically converted into the right to receive $5.00 per share in cash.
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission approved the merger last Friday and also permitted SoftBank to acquire Sprint. The Japanese wireless provider is expected to complete its $21.6 billion merger with Sprint sometime this week.
With the acquisition of Clearwire, Sprint will be in a better position to offer faster download speeds in additional locations across the US. Furthermore, the deal will help them better compete with heavyweights Verizon and AT&T while at the same time keeping T-Mobile and newly-acquired MetroPCS at bay.