Sprint earlier had made a binding offer of $2.97 a share. As always, a range of possibilities, some not mutually exclusive, could explain the bid. Since Dish needs a partner to build out its now-approved Long Term Evolution network, an acquisition of Clearwire might help on that score.
Dish might be betting that the value of its new LTE license, plus the Clearwire network, would make an attractive asset for another company to purchase.
But Dish might also be trying only to irritate a major competitor, drive up that competitor's purchase price for Clearwire, and send yet one more signal that Dish Network is serious about getting into the mobile business.
Sending such signals would, one might argue, both raise Dish Network's profile among potential buyers and partners. The former would presumably ad equity value if Dish would contemplate selling, the latter would encourage partners to see Dish as a more valuable partner.
With Dish, one never knows. An opportunistic company, Dish Network might be persuadable either way. And some might argue an LTE spectrum bubble is forming, driven by would-be suppliers of spectrum originally intended for mobile satellite purposes.
On the other hand, many say the spectrum will ultimately be needed. The issue, for some, might be how much is needed right now.
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