US Wimax operator Clearwire said it is still considering a rival takeover offer from Dish Network, while also continuing talks on a possible offer from its largest shareholder Sprint. In a SEC filing, Clearwire said the special committee set up by its board is still evaluating the Dish proposal, as well as holding talks with Dish and Sprint. The committee earlier recommended the Sprint transaction and has not made any change to this.
While it is considering the Dish offer, Clearwire has agreed to not accept interim financing offered by Sprint as part of its takeover bid. Clearwire noted that the last part of the financing, scheduled for August, September and October 2013, was conditional on reaching an agreement with Sprint on the accelerated build-out of Clearwire's network by 31 January. As no agreement was reached by that date, the two agreed to extend the deadline for talks on network build-out to 28 February.
Clearwire noted in a statement that the Dish proposal is only a preliminary indication of interest and is subject to numerous conditions, some of which, as currently proposed, may not be permitted under Clearwire's current legal and contractual obligations, including those towards Sprint. Sprint said in a statement that Dish's offer was "illusory" and Clearwire's filing "makes very clear that Sprint’s definitive agreement to acquire Clearwire provides both the best value for shareholders and stability amid an uncertain future". In the past two years of reviewing its strategy, Clearwire discussed the sale of spectrum with no fewer than 10 parties and has held a series of ongoing conversations with Dish, Sprint noted.
