Clearwire investors Time Warner and Intel revealed that their investments in the WiMAX operator will result in charges. Comcast is also reportedly expected to take an undisclosed charge related to its investment.
Time Warner said its cable business will see a charge of about $350 million related to its Clearwire investment, while Intel said it will record an impairment charge of $950 million. Now eyes are on another investor, Google. According to regulatory filings, Google contributed $500 million out of a total of $3.2 billion from strategic investors to Clearwire, in return for 25 million shares of Class A Common Stock. Google isn't commenting, saying it is in a quiet period before its quarterly earnings report.
Moreover, some analysts have cautioned that Clearwire, despite receiving $3.2 billion in capital investments from its strategic investors, may not have enough capital to proceed with an overly ambitious rollout plan and may have to scale back its plans.
For more:
- read MarketWatch [1]
Related articles:
New Clearwire announces 'Clear' brand [2]
Clearwire [3] faces financial hurdles ahead of buildout
Links:
[1] http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/other-clearwire-backers-get-stung/story.aspx?guid={43DF388C-73E9-4CE1-97A9-F43D2047DE74}&siteid=yhoof
[2] http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/new-clearwire-announces-clear-brand/2008-12-01
[3] http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/clearwire-faces-financial-hurdles-ahead-buildout/2008-12-18