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Sprint wraps up iPCS acquisition, Nextel merger drama may finally be over
It's been eons since Sprint bought Nextel, but regional affiliate iPCS had managed to keep the fallout from the deal tied up in courts for years -- a side-effect of its claim that the merger violated Sprint's agreement to stay off iPCS' turf. After a few court losses, Sprint ultimately decided to bite the bullet and buy iPCS outright, and now, that deal's finalized to the tune of $831 million including Sprint's assumption of $405 million in debt. Though iPCS customers now become Sprint customers as a result of the acquisition, they'll effectively notice no difference -- the regional was already offering Sprint service exclusively under the Sprint brand, so this whole deal is little more than an escape hatch for the head office to tie off these legal wranglings once and for all.
Sprint proves money can solve problems, buys iPCS to settle litigation
Considering Sprint's financial position and the overall credit market, we're not exactly sure where the carrier managed to pick up $831 million, which it promptly used to acquire affiliate iPCS and take on $405 million of net debt. If you'll recall, the aforesaid youngin' was worrying papa way back in May of 2008, and it seems that Sprint has finally had enough of this whole "litigation" thing. The acquisition puts all of the court battling to rest (or at least it's expected to), enabling the operator to stop divesting its iDEN network in select iPCS markets. Money may not buy happiness, but it sure buys a good muzzle.[Via Reuters]
Sprint lays out process for selling some iDEN assets, making iPCS happy
Sprint's fight with iPCS continues to wage on multiple fronts, all of which have been ongoing for eons -- especially the whole iDEN tussle in the wake of Sprint's merger with Nextel. Most recently, that little soap opera had seen an Illinois court rule that Sprint's got to divest some iPCS-controlled iDEN markets to bring it back into contractual compliance and restore Mother Nature's balance, and now Sprint's gotten around to announcing how that process is going to work. In short, it seems like a free-for-all -- the company has apparently put out a few feelers for buyers, but anyone it hasn't contacted is invited to hook up with Citi, who's managing the ordeal on Sprint's behalf. The carrier says that it expects everything to be squared away by January 25 of next year, which is when the court-imposed deadline falls; in the meantime, subscribers, stay cool, because Sprint says that service will continue uninterrupted and expects any transition to be seamless.
Court allowing iPCS to proceed with fight against Sprint's Clearwire deal
Sprint affiliate iPCS' post-Nextel merger beef with the carrier goes beyond the Nextel market issue; they've also been making noise over the deal that has married Sprint's WiMAX efforts with Clearwire's, claiming that it's sharing awesome technology and other "benefits" with Clearwire that it also has a legal obligation to share with its affiliates. To that end, the Illinois-based company has scored another court win that allows its WiMAX-related lawsuit to proceed, though not without also dropping a claim to collect "undetermined" damages against Sprint that the judge determined iPCS was not entitled to collect under the terms of its agreement. Like the endless Nokia / Qualcomm and Broadcom / Qualcomm legal dramas, this is shaping up to be one for the ages -- so sit back, relax, get your popcorn ready, and make sure you've got a full legal reference at your side. [Via Phone Scoop]
Sprint has a year to sell Nextel spectrum in iPCS regions
Okay, so it's not just that Sprint can't offer service on iPCS' turf -- it's that they have to offload all that airspace, too. Cook County Circuit Court in Illinois has decided that Sprint needs to sell off its Nextel service areas that overlap with iPCS within 360 days, which marks another big win for the affiliate that's been all up in Sprint's business ever since the Sprint-Nextel merger several years ago. What's more, iPCS has more pending litigation claiming Sprint is withholding "advanced technologies" in favor of iPCS' competitors, so there's still all sorts of bad blood between these two. As for potential suitors for Nextel's obligatory spinoffs, Sprint's not talking -- yet -- but with iDEN's seeming second wind, snatching up that network might not be the worst decision a company could make.
Court blocks Sprint from offering service in iPCS areas
It didn't manage to block the Sprint / Clearwire merger, but iPCS is still scoring little victories for itself in its continued fight with Sprint over alleged violations of the exclusivity agreement it's had in place with the (much, much larger) carrier for nearly a decade. An Illinois court has now ruled that Sprint can't offer service in areas where iPCS has a presence, while Sprint's partners have their fate decided in the hallowed halls of justice starting March 30. iPCS covers seven states, so it's actually a pretty big blow to Sprint to have the footprint ganked from their icy clutches; guess they'll just have to make it up with Android-powered sub wins.[Via Phone Scoop]
Sprint affiliate gets litigious to block Clearwire WiMAX deal
Sprint affiliate iPCS has butted heads with its parent company in the past, and it looks like it's causing a bit of a ruckus once again, this time over Sprint's deal with Clearwire to form a new WiMAX-focused company. As the AP reports, iPCS (which has 640,600 subscribers in seven states) thinks that new service would compete with it in the markets it operates in, and therefore violate the exclusivity agreement Sprint signed in 1999. To put a halt to that possibility, iPCS has filed suit in the Cook County Circuit Court in Illinois to block the deal, adding that it "intends to fully and aggressively protect and defend its exclusivity rights." Not surprisingly, Sprint saw this one coming, and it asked a Delaware Chancery Court to rule last week that the Clearwire deal didn't violate its arrangement with iPCS, although there doesn't appear to be any further word on that front just yet.[Via Phone Scoop]
Court rules in favor of Midwestern Nextel spinoff
The endless barrage of legal fallout resulting from Sprint Nextel's merger continues, the latest onslaught coming from iPCS, a Sprint affiliate operating throughout much of the Midwest. According to Cook County Circuit Court in Illinois, the merger violated Sprint's agreement with iPCS to not infringe on their territory (a common theme in affiliates' lawsuits) and is demanding that Sprint file a plan for divesting itself of its Nextel operations in Illinois, Michigan, Iowa, and Nebraska by September 6. Naturally, Sprint intends to appeal "vigorously," though as in so many other cases, an acquisition ultimately seems possible -- if not probable.
