Sprint Nextel Asks Court to Review Affiliate Buyout

Sprint Nextel has gone to court to resolve key aspects of a debate over how much the company must pay to acquire an affiliate. The affiliate, Nextel Partners, has the right to make Sprint Nextel buy out the 68% of Nextel Partners that it doesn't already own. The right was triggered by the merger that created Sprint Nextel, which closed in August. Nextel Partners shareholders are expected to vote to exercise the option to force a buyout at a meeting Oct. 24. A subsidiary of Sprint Nextel filed the suit Friday in Delaware Chancery Court seeking an expedited review. Neither side has yet said publicly how much it thinks Sprint should pay for Nextel Partners, but the sides have been sniping over the terms for setting the price since Nextel Partners indicated it would demand the buyout.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Shawn Young shawn.young@wsj.com]
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