OVERLAND PARK, KAN. – Sprint bought Nextel Wednesday for $35 billion, creating the third-largest cell phone company in the country. Sprint Nextel said it will have about $40 billion in combined annual revenue and 35.4 million wireless subscribers, trailing only Cingular Wireless and Verizon Wireless.
The boards of both companies have approved the deal, which is expected to close in the second half of 2005, the company said.
Sprint gets access to Nextel’s 15.3 million subscribers, many of whom are business customers. Nextel is particularly popular in on the West side of Michigan where smaller businesses, like plumbing contractors, use it to communicate with their mobile work forces.
The agreement includes a poison pill clause that would force any rival bidders to pay $1 billion if it broke up the deal. This clause is aimed at Verizon, insiders said.
Sprint Nextel would become the third largest wireless carrier behind Cingular Wireless with 47 million customers, and Verizon with 42.1 million customers.
