Sprint Sues Clearwire And DISH To Block Buyout

Just what Sprint needs: another lawsuit to spend gobs of money on as it bleeds customers. But sure enough, the carrier -- which is struggling mightily on the coverage aspect as well as the LTE rollout front -- has just filed suit against DISH Network and Clearwire, citing the illegality of the DISH offer to buy up Clearwire. It has become an awful circus for all of these companies. Clearwire was once integral in getting Sprint into the 4G game with WiMAX, and now Sprint's suing that very company? Talk about a mess.


Essentially, Sprint fears that DISH is about to buy up Clearwire, and Sprint feels that the transaction violates a great number of things. In addition to seeking to enjoin the tender offer, Sprint’s lawsuit seeks to rescind certain parts of the tender offer agreement and seeks declaratory, injunctive, compensatory and other relief. In its complaint, Sprint outlines why DISH’s tender offer violates the rights of Sprint and other Clearwire stockholders under Clearwire’s governing documents and Delaware law. It also details how DISH has repeatedly attempted to fool Clearwire’s shareholders into believing its proposal was actionable in an effort to acquire Clearwire’s spectrum and to obstruct Sprint’s transaction with Clearwire.

It's hard to see what Sprint gains from all of this. DISH is clearly looking to buy spectrum; if it can't find it in Clearwire, it'll go elsewhere. And is Sprint really prolonging its life by focusing on things like this?
Tags:  Sprint, WiMAX, Clearwire