Sprint signs $2.2 billion deal to sell its network equipment then lease it back
Sprint’s bleeding money and in an effort to keep business afloat, the carrier announced that they’ll be selling a number of their network assets to Network LeaseCo for $2.2 billion in capital. Network LeaseCo will, in turn, lease those assets back to Sprint so they can continue doing business, after which the carrier will repay funds “in staggered, unequal payments through January 2018.”
When all is said and done, Sprint says the deal will “immediately improve the company’s liquidity position at an attractive cost of capital in the mid-single digits.” Sprint CFO Tarek Robbiati had to this to say about the transaction:
“This transaction is an important first step in addressing upcoming debt maturities and allows us to stay focused on our corporate transformation, which involves growing topline revenues and aggressively taking costs out of the business to improve operating cash flows.”
Sprint also notes that their total liquidity was at $6 billion toward the end of last year (plus an additional $600 million available under vendor financing agreements) that they could use toward the purchase of high-frequency 2.5 GHz network equipment. Full press release linked down below.