SPRINT MAKES IPCS LEGAL PROBLEM GO AWAY WITH $831 MILLION PURCHASE

摘要

Sprint said it agreed to buy affiliate iPCS for $831 million, ending a legal battle between the companies going back to Sprint's purchase of Nextel. The acquisition, expected to close late this year or early next will produce $30 million in annual financial benefit and will improve Sprint's free cash flow, the spokesman said. Sprint will no longer be required to divest its iDEN network in some iPCS territories, as a judge had ordered. The deal simplifies matters for Sprint but won't help the company stop losing customers, said Bernstein Research's Craig Moffett. Long term, Sprint may need to merge with another company, said Auriga analyst Chandan Sarkar, and the iPCS deal will make any such merger easier by getting rid of the court fight. Deutsche Telekom remains a possible buyer, Moffett said. In May, Sprint lost on a request to dismiss an iPCS lawsuit that sought to stop its network buildout with Clearwire. IPCS also sued Sprint last month over its planned purchase of Virgin Mobile USA, alleging breach of contract as it had in the older case. Sprint has two remaining affiliates, privately held Swiftel and Shentel.