Regulators won’t stop the clock for satellite czar Charlie Ergen.
Sources told The Post that the Federal Communications Commission is moving ahead with its original timetable for reviewing SoftBank’s proposed $20 billion acquisition of Sprint Nextel — dismissing Ergen’s request for a “pause” while Dish pursues a deal for Sprint partner Clearwire.
Dish, the second-largest satellite-TV provider, jumped in with $3.30 a share for wireless operator Clearwire, which had already agreed to be bought out by Sprint for $2.97 a share.
ln January, Dish said the FCC should hold off on the SoftBank-Sprint deal until Clearwire shareholders vote on whether to accept Dish’s offer or Sprint’s.
“With competing offers for Clearwire in place, premature commission evaluation of Sprint’s initial offer could undermine the commission’s policy objective of neutrality in takeover contests by giving SoftBank and Sprint a very real advantage in the corporate valuation process,” Dish said in a filing with the government agency.
Despite Dish’s objection, the FCC is moving ahead with its review, putting Sprint and SoftBank on target to pull off the complex deal in June or July, said several sources close to the deal. Japan’s SoftBank wants Sprint to take control of Clearwire as the combined spectrum would allow SoftBank to create the first global roaming network. The FCC is now in the 70th day of its review, which it is required to finish within 180 days.
The Justice Department has expressed concerns about foreign ownership of Sprint, but the expectation is that Softbank will be able to alleviate those concerns and win approval.
Ergen’s bid for Clearwire appears to be more of a negotiating tactic to force Sprint to discuss sharing airwaves or allowing it to buy some spectrum than a real offer to acquire Clearwire, analysts said.
Ergen has said that he wants to build his own nationwide wireless network to compete with Verizon, AT&T and Sprint.
The FCC, Sprint and Dish all declined to comment.