Thursday, August 2, 2012

Clearwire Shares Dropped: What You Need to Know

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of wireless broadband provider Clearwire (Nasdaq: CLWR  ) sank as much as 10% on Thursday after the company announced the details of its secondary stock offering.

So what: The embattled Clearwire said it would sell 175 million Class A common shares at $2 per share, which is about 12% below its Wednesday closing price. When you couple that clear discount with management's decision to also increase the size of the offering by $50 million, it's no surprise that investors are concerned about the deal's likely dilutive effects.

Now what: I wouldn't be so quick to pounce on this plunge. The cash-strapped Clearwire also said that its underwriters have a 30-day option to buy an additional $52.5 million of Class A stock and that its majority owner, Sprint Nextel (NYSE: S  ) , will buy about 172 million shares of its Class B shares. While the cash infusions certainly put Clearwire on firmer financial footing, it might be a while before shareholder value starts growing again.

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