Sprint files lawsuit against Dish and Clearwire

The complicated battle for Clearwire is growing more contentious.

Four days after Clearwire’s board backed a takeover by Dish Network Corp., original bidder Sprint Nextel announced that it had filed a complaint in a Delaware court against Dish and Clearwire seeking to stop a deal from happening.

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“Sprint believes the transaction violates Delaware law and the rights of both Sprint and Clearwire’s other strategic investors under Clearwire’s charter and under the Equity Holders Agreement,� Sprint said in a statement. “In addition to seeking to enjoin the tender offer, Sprint’s lawsuit seeks to rescind certain parts of the tender offer agreement and seeks declaratory, injunctive, compensatory and other relief.�

The news marks the latest in the back-and-forth fight over wireless network operator Clearwire that has dragged on for months.

In December, Overland Park, Kan.-based Sprint -- which owned about 51% of Clearwire -- said it had struck a deal to pay $2.2 billion to acquire the rest of Clearwire. Sprint would gain wireless spectrum in the deal, helping it compete with larger wireless carriers Verizon and AT&T.;

Then in January, Dish made an unsolicited offer to buy the company for $3.30 a share, or $5.15 billion.

Although Sprint sweetened its offer by 14% in May, Clearwire’s board favored the Dish bid.

To make matters more confusing, Sprint -- which last fall agreed to sell 70% of itself to Japanese telecommunications giant Softbank Corp. for $20 billion -- received a takeover bid by Dish for $25.5-billion in April.

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