Analyst: Sprint has no choice but to acquire Clearwire

In light of AT&T's proposed $39 billion acquisition of T-Mobile USA, Zachary Investment Research analyst Patrick Comack said Sprint Nextel (NYSE:S) now has no choice but to buy out Clearwire (NASDAQ:CLWR), the WiMAX service provider Sprint owns a majority stake in. "We're downgrading Sprint to Sell and upgrading Clearwire to Neutral. The ratings adjustments are driven by Sprint's need to acquire Clearwire. Despite near-term upside from any network-sharing agreement that might precede a CLWR take-out, the acquisition of CLWR should dilute Sprint's share price by ($2). ... Unfortunately, Sprint management has boxed itself in, and has no choice but to acquire CLWR or abandon it." Article (sub. req.)