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Struggling Sprint Rejects $5B Offer

Former CEO's Nextel legacy remains divisive

By Jane Yager,  Newser Staff

Posted Nov 30, 2007 4:57 AM CST

(Newser) – A bid by SK Telecom and Providence Equity to invest $5B in Sprint Nextel and install former Sprint chairman Tim Donahue as the company CEO has met with swift rejection from the Sprint board. The move comes as Sprint, which has seen its stock plumet 36% since June, searches for a new CEO, the Wall Street Journal reports.

With share prices falling, investors may be angry that the board dismissed the deal without so much as a meeting, according to analysts.  Donahue, onetime CEO of Nextel, became chairman of Sprint when the two companies merged in 2005, and stepped down late last year. Sprint has performed poorly since the merger, and a deep rift between Nextel and Sprint employees lingers.

This photo provided by Sprint Nextel Corp. shows the HTC Touch cell phone. Sprint Nextel Corp. announced Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2007 it is jumping on the bandwagon with the Touch by HTC. Like Apple Inc.'s iPhone, this smart phone has only a few buttons and is designed to be...
This photo provided by Sprint Nextel Corp. shows the HTC Touch cell phone. Sprint Nextel Corp. announced Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2007 it is jumping on the bandwagon with the Touch by HTC. Like Apple Inc.'s...   (Associated Press)
In a file photo passers-by walk past a Sprint Store in Boston, Wednesday, Dec. 15, 2004 .   Sprint Nextel Corp. sent letters to about 1,000 subscribers June 29, saying the company's records showed they had made frequent calls for help with questions about billing and other account information.   The customers...
In a file photo passers-by walk past a Sprint Store in Boston, Wednesday, Dec. 15, 2004 . Sprint Nextel Corp. sent letters to about 1,000 subscribers June 29, saying the company's records showed they...   (Associated Press)
A Sprint phone store sign is enveloped by sunlight and shadows in this Feb. 28, 2007 file photo, in Murray, Utah. Sprint Nextel Corp., the nation's third-largest wireless carrier, said Wednesday, May 2, 2007 it swung to a first-quarter loss as bigger investments in operations wiped out modest gains in...
A Sprint phone store sign is enveloped by sunlight and shadows in this Feb. 28, 2007 file photo, in Murray, Utah. Sprint Nextel Corp., the nation's third-largest wireless carrier, said Wednesday, May...   (Associated Press)
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