Clearwire revisits IPO

KIRKLAND, Wash.-Clearwire Corp. is again looking at an initial public offering, according to documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The wireless broadband company had filed paperwork for a $400 million IPO with the SEC in May, shortly before Clearwire received a combined $900 million investment from Intel Capital and Motorola Ventures that eliminated the need for an IPO. Intel said at the time that its $600 million portion of the investment was its largest ever.
Five months after the investment was announced, Clearwire has again filed for a $400 million IPO and requested the ticker symbol CLWR for listing on the Nasdaq Global Market exchange; as before, Clearwire did not reveal how many shares it plans to sell or at what price range it expects to sell them. Underwriters for the IPO include Merrill Lynch & Co., Morgan Staney and JPMorgan.
“We expect to use the proceeds from this offering for market and network expansion, spectrum acquisitions and general corporate purposes,” Clearwire said in the filing.
The document indicated that Clearwire founder, chairman and co-CEO Craig McCaw currently owns a 52-percent stake in the company, and that Intel Corp. subsidiary Intel Pacific owns a stake of about 32 percent. Those two major holders would still have the ability to appoint the majority of the Clearwire board after an IPO, the company said.