Clearwire Raises Capital

TechFlash reports: Shares of Clearwire were up more than five percent in trading this morning after the Wall Street Journal reported that the Kirkland, Washington-based provider of broadband wireless service was close to a deal to raise $1.5 billion in fresh capital. Sprint Nextel was said to be leading the deal with a commitment of $1 billion, with previous investors in Clearwire such as Intel, Time Warner Cable, Comcast, and Bright House Networks also participating.

Google, which invested in Clearwire last year as part of a $3.2 billion round, is not part of the most recent investment syndicate, the Journal said.

Clearwire's appetite for capital is growing as the company expands its WiMax network across the U.S. and as it attempts to fend off pending competition from the likes of Verizon.

The company, started by wireless pioneer Craig McCaw had $251 million in capital expenditures during the second quarter as it built out the network. And the company said that the capital expenditures would rise throughout 2009 due to continued expansion.

The company finished the second quarter with $2.5 billion in cash and cash equivalents. Its net cash spend was $374 million. It had an operating loss of $241 million for that period.

In addition to the new capital, Clearwire has been overhauling its management team over the past six months.

It also reportedly was seeking partnerships and capital from other telecommunications giants, including Deutsche Telekom. That deal could have been interesting given that Deutsche Telekom's U.S. mobile unit—T-Mobile—is based nearby in Bellevue.

But the Wall Street Journal reported that the deal didn't "pan out." Meanwhile, Sprint also has connections to the Seattle wireless industry, since CEO Dan Hesse previously led Redmond-based AT&T Wireless. That's the successor company of McCaw Cellular.

More details about the new investment could come as early as this week. Clearwire is expected to hold an earnings call tomorrow at 1 p.m.