Sprint just announced that it has successfully completed its purchase of Clearwire - its final, best offer of $5 per share was accepted, and the transaction has been closed as of today. This comes just one day after SoftBank and Sprint announced their merger would be complete on July 10th and less than a week since the FCC gave both deals its blessing. Sprint was already a majority shareholder in Clearwire, but now the carrier - and thus Sprint's new owner, SoftBank - now owns 100 percent of the company. It's a key acquisition for Sprint, as the carrier plans to use Clearwire's spectrum to continue building out its LTE network.

This week's …

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At long last, Spring and SoftBank have set a date for their long courtship to finally be official: as of July 10th, SoftBank will complete its $21.6 billion acquisition of the third-biggest US wireless carrier. This announcement comes a few days after the FCC officially gave the transaction the green light, marking the acquisition's final hurdle. Dish has probably been the biggest thorn in the side of SoftBank - it made an aggressive offer to buy Sprint itself as part of its attempts to get into the wireless space. However, the company pulled out of the bidding in late June, paving the way for SoftBank and Sprint to finally finish their merg …

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As previously rumored, the FCC has officially approved SoftBank's purchase of Sprint and, furthermore, Sprint's purchase of the rest of Clearwire. Acting FCC Chairwoman Mignon Clyburn and commissioner Ajit Pai both gave statements supporting the deal, Sprint says that the FCC voted unanimously, though the third commissioner, Jessica Rosenworcel, did not issue a statement. In Clyburn's statement, she said that the deal would "serve the public interest" and that it would "accelerate the deployment of mobile broadband services and enhance competition."

The deal had seen multiple challenges from Dish, which has been trying to find a way into the …

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A mere five days after acting FCC chairwoman Mignon Clyburn sent the Sprint-SoftBank-Clearwire deal to the committee for a vote, Bloomberg reports that at least two of the three sitting commissioners have voted for the deal. The vote means not only that the FCC will allow Softbank to go forward with its acquisition of Sprint, but will also not stand in the way of Sprint buying up the remaining portion of Clearwire that it has been pursuing. Both deals have been beset by high-stakes gamesmanship from Dish, which alternately tried to merge with Sprint and buy Clearwire out from under the carrier. The moves forced SoftBank to improve its offer …

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The Sprint, Dish, Clearwire, and SoftBank acquisition saga may be close to over. Dish has withdrawn its offer to purchase Clearwire, according to a press release pushed across the wire this afternoon. The satellite television company last bid $4.40 per share, but Sprint's latest offer of $5 per share - enough to earn the backing of Clearwire's board - has apparently convinced Dish to give up on this particular opportunity. Sprint, meanwhile, is in the middle of being acquired by Japan's SoftBank after Dish's own discussions to purchase the Kansas-based carrier fell through earlier this month.

It's unclear if today's news marks an end of Dis …

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SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son and Sprint CEO Dan Hesse

SoftBank's efforts to purchase Sprint got one step closer to completion on Tuesday, as Sprint's shareholders overwhelmingly approved the proposed purchase. Sprint says that about 98 percent of the votes cast at a special shareholders meeting were in favor of SoftBank's offer. Facing a competing bid from Dish, SoftBank recently upped its offer to $21.6 billion in cash and stock - $16.64 billion of which would be delivered to Sprint shareholders. Sprint CEO Dan Hesse said "the transaction with SoftBank should enhance Sprint's long-term value and competitive position by creating a company wit …

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Dish Network has pulled out of the competition to buy third-place US wireless carrier Sprint after months of back-and-forth with competitor SoftBank. After seeing the Japanese operator table a buyout offer in October 2012, Dish countered with its own surprise bid in April, leading to some heated exchanges in the media. Reuters reports that Dish will instead focus on acquiring Clearwire Corp. The company issued a statement on its change of plans in the form of a press release, the full text of which is below:

"While DISH continues to see strategic value in a merger with Sprint, the decisions made by Sprint to prematurely terminate our due di …

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SoftBank is reaching deeper into its pockets to increase its bid for third-place US carrier Sprint, raising the stakes to $21.6 billion in cash and stock. The bump is coming in the form of extra cash - $4.5 billion worth - but the nominal total still remains lower than Dish's $25.5 billion bid. SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son had previously been adamant that even though Dish is offering a higher figure, his company's bid offers a better value for shareholders, calling Dish's bid "incomplete and illusory." A shareholder vote on SoftBank's proposal had been planned for Wednesday, but Sprint's board has since pushed it back to June 25th.

"We continu …

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