Sprint Nextel Corporation (S): DISH Network Corp (DISH) Looking to Become Industry-Leader With It

Clearwire Corporation (NASDAQ:CLWR) Bids

DISH has been working on expanding its portfolio of spectrum assets recently, putting in a $2.28 billion bid for Clearwire Corporation (NASDAQ:CLWR)’s spectrum assets. The deal was in fact a counter-proposal to Sprint’s offer of $2.2 billion for the roughly 50% of Clearwire it did not yet own.

Clearwire has indicated that it would be in danger of bankruptcy if it didn’t quickly secure additional funding. It now looks as if DISH is trying to sidestep the Clearwire deal by simply acquiring Sprint itself, effectively killing two birds with one stone.

In recent months, the telecom sector has been shaken up by a number of large merger talks. It all started with Deutsche Telekom AG’s plan to sell T-Mobile to AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) last October, which fell through because of antitrust concerns.

DT then decided it would try to buy MetroPCS Communications, Inc. (NYSE:PCS) in an effort to beef up T-Mobile, but this deal also came under fire. Previously, DISH had already put in a bid for MetroPCS Communications, Inc. (NYSE:PCS) at around $11 per share. DT and DISH Networks are still in acquisition talks at the moment.

The Bottom Line

With its bid for Sprint-Nextel, DISH Networks is looking to become the national leader in home and mobile video, broadband and voice services. It has been working hard to expand its spectrum portfolio, and now seems to have found a way to put the airwaves to work. The combined company would be a very serious player in the Telecom sector, which has recently been seeing an increasing amount of M&A action. If the deal is completed, DISH Networks could be looking at a very profitable integrated business.

The article Dish Networks Looking to Become Industry Leader with Sprint Bid originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Daniel James.

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