Sprint (S) has increased its offer to $5 a share in its latest effort to acquire the approximately 50% of Clearwire's (NASDAQ: CLWR) outstanding shares that it doesn't already own, Sprint announced today. The amended offer from Sprint represents a 47% premium compared to its May 21, 2013 offer of $3.40 a share, and values Clearwire at approximately $14 billion.
A group of "significant" Clearwire shareholders have committed to voting for Sprint's revised offer, and now, according to Sprint, an estimated 45% of independent Clearwire shareholders will vote in favor of the enhanced offer. As a result of shareholder commitments, Sprint expects "a majority of the non-Sprint stockholders to support the Clearwire merger based on these agreements and the votes of shareholders with both Sprint and Clearwire shareholdings who have already voted in favor of the Sprint SoftBank transaction."
In addition to the increased price per share, the amended agreement between Sprint and Clearwire states that, "In certain circumstances where the transaction between Sprint and Clearwire terminates, Clearwire will be required to pay a termination fee of $115 million, or 3 percent of the equity value of the minority stake."
Sprint's latest offer tops Dish Network's (DISH) earlier acquisition bid for Clearwire of $4.40 a share, according to the release. The deal is subject to regulatory and shareholder approval, and customary closing conditions.
