The love triangle between Sprint, Clearwire and Dish has been filled with surprises and one-upping, and now the story has taken yet another turn. Clearwire recently announced that it has rescheduled the meeting at which its shareholders were slated to vote on Sprint's bid to acquire the remaining portion of Clearwire that it doesn't already own. Originally scheduled to be held on May 31, Clearwire says that it has decided to push the meeting to June 13 at 10:30 a.m. PT so that it can review Dish's improved offer for it.
In its announcement of the rescheduling, Clearwire also commented on Dish's latest proposal. Clearwire explained that while the offer brings up issues that it needs to discuss with Dish, it feels that the new bid is "more actionable" than the company's previous offer. Clearwire's Special Committee that's been tasked with reviewing Sprint and Dish's offers says that it plans to issue is recommendation soon, but that for now, it has not made any decision to change its recommendation that Clearwire's shareholders vote in favor of the Sprint transaction.
Dish issued a statement in response to the news of Clearwire's decision to reschedule its shareholder meeting, saying that it's "pleased" to learn that Clearwire will be taking the time to consider Dish's improved bid. Dish went on to say that it feels that its offer is superior to Sprint's because it offers a greater value as well as an alternative for Clearwire stockholders that are opposed to the Sprint transaction.
The news of Clearwire rescheduling its shareholder meeting doesn't bring us any closer to knowing whether it'll ultimately end up with Dish or Sprint, but it's still good news for Dish since it means that there's still a chance that it could end up with Clearwire. Dish recently raised its bid to acquire Clearwire to $4.40 per share, up from its original bid of $3.30 per share, beating out Sprint's improved offer of $3.40 per share. Now we have to wait while Clearwire's Special Committee does its thing and tries to determine if it should continue to recommend the Sprint deal or switch over to the Dish side. Which offer do you think that the committee should back?
Via Clearwire, Dish Network