Dish said its cash offer is worth 18 percent more than Softbank's bid, and the equity portion also gives Sprint shareholders a higher stake in the combined company, at 32 percent versus 30 percent under Softbank's proposal. Sprint's shares closed at USD 6.22 the day before the announcement.
Dish earlier launched a rival offer for Clearwire, the Wimax operator controlled by Sprint. As part of the proposed takeover by Softbank, Sprint is seeking to buy out the remaining shares in Clearwire, giving it access to a wide range of spectrum to expand its LTE services. Dish launched a slightly higher offer for Clearwire, but Clearwire has yet say whether it prefers the Dish proposal.
Dish has been seeking to enter the mobile market for some time and already has some of its own spectrum. However, its various attempts to acquire operators such as T-Mobile USA or MetroPCS to give it a stepping stone in the market have been rebuffed. Sprint confirmed it has received the offer from Dish and will evaluate the terms.
