Sprint files lawsuit against DISH and Clearwire, claims purchase agreement is illegal
It’s no secret Sprint has been gunning for Clearwire (of which Sprint is currently a majority owner) after they offered to buyout Clearwire for $2.2 billion back in December. Soon after, a bidding war took place with Dish making an offer of $3.30 a share, and then Sprint upping their original offer to $3.40. Eventually, it looked like Dish’s $6 billion bid ($4.40 a share) from May was enough to cause Sprint to fold, but the Now Network is now firing back, not by upping the ante — but with legal action instead.
Sprint Nextel Corp announced today that they are formally suing both Dish and Clearwire, alleging their tender offer violates Delaware’s corporate law. The lawsuit filed in the Delaware Court of Chancery is filled with a whole lot of legal jargon, but goes on to say the deal would violate the rights of Sprint and Clearwire’s investors under the charter equity holders agreement. Sprint believes shareholders were duped by Dish into believing its proposal was “actionable,” all in an attempt to block out Sprint from acquiring Clearwire.
Seems Dish and Sprint have locked horns in their acquisition of Clearwire and it’s going to take a judge to sort it all out. We can’t wait to see how this all turns out. For more, visit Sprint’s official statement via the link below.
[Sprint]