Clearwire: three years after $3.2 billion deal, wireless broadband company with regional footprint may miss debt payment

In late November 2008, Clearwire announced it had closed a $3.2 billion deal to build out cable infrastructure to compete against phone-based video and Internet providers like Verizon. The investors in the Washington state-based wireless Internet provider included Time Warner Cable, Intel, Google, Brighthouse Networks, wireless spectrum from now majority-stake owner Sprint Nextel and $1.05 billion from Comcast.
It was a big deal.
Three years later, Clearwire will likely skip Wednesday a $237 million debt payment, as the Wall Street Journal reported.
There’s local impact to the national story, as the more than 200 hires made in the region continue to fizzle and complications around the company’s infrastructure will persist. From Clearwire’s major local marketing blitz of 2009, many in regional leadership have moved on.
The news started breaking back in March with the company’s CEO stepping down and its stock plummeting after the news that it might delay on its debt. Investors are putting a lot into this news and the reviews are mixed, but at least some are predicting real trouble.