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US/Japan: Sprint acknowledges Clearwire buyout revolves around merger with SoftBank

By  |  April 24, 2013

In an interview, chief executive Dan Hesse of wireless company Sprint told the media that the company’s planned buyout of Clearwire could depend on another merger with SoftBank Corp., based in Tokyo. A vote among Clearwire shareholders is scheduled for May 21 and will decide whether to approve of Sprint’s $2.2 billion deal for the remaining 49 percent of the company not already owned by Sprint. While Hesse noted that the deals were not entirely dependent on each other, and that Sprint may still proceed with the Clearwire buyout if the merger with SoftBank falls through, he noted that the company is not “obligated” to proceed with the Clearwire transaction. Still, Hesse expressed his hope for approval from Clearwire shareholders. Concerning the merger with Softbank, Hesse said he expects the deal to close by July.

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