According to Intel Corp.’s (INTC) investment group Intel Capital, the company will shed up to 10 million shares of stock in Clearwire L.L.C (CLWR).
The world’s largest chip mogul, which owns 10% of Clearwire with 36.8 million Class A shares and 65.6 million Class B shares, made a regulatory filing today that confirmed its intent to sell stock from the WiMAXprovider. The sale is projected to be about 10% of Intel’s stake in Clearwire of 102.4 million shares.
Intel released a statement claiming that the sale is part of a plan to shape up the company’s equity portfolio and that the decision is “based on Intel’s goals, the performance of stocks in its portfolio, and its evaluation of market conditions.” As Intel did in 2009, when the company first sold off shares of Clearwire, Intel is claiming a commitment to WiMAX and maintains that the sale won’t affect business developments and contractual obligations with Clearwire. This is the second time Intel has rid itself of Clearwire shares.
The move to reduce Intel’s investment in Clearwire may indicate a presumption that Clearwire is looking to shift gears into LTE technology, which could devalue the company’s strategic value to partners at Intel.
Sprint Nextel Corp. (S) owns 50% of Clearwire and continues to fund the WiMAX provider as it also looks at a possible deal with LightSquared for LTE. Sprint recently invested $1 billion in Clearwire in the wake of a troubled past year that has seen Clearwire lose both executives and cash coupled with rising rates to operate its network.
It’s likely that Clearwire is too important for Sprint to let go, and that an arrangement between the carrier, LightSquared and Clearwire is in the works.
Meanwhile, AT&T Inc. (T), T-Mobile USA Inc. (DTEGY) and Sprint testified in Congress yesterday on the merger.
Defending the deal were AT&T president and CEO Randall Stephenson and T-Mobile president and CEO Philipp Humm at a Senate Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights hearing while Sprint CEO Dan Hesse and Cellular South president and CEO Victor Meena voiced opposition.
