Good Morning Traders!!  $CLWR UP HUGE in Pre-Mark

Good Morning Traders!!  $CLWR UP HUGE in Pre-Market trading.

7:27a ET December 17, 2012 (Dow Jones)

Sprint Raises Offer For Rest of Clearwire to $2.97 a Share

By Melodie Warner

Sprint Nextel Corp. (S) increased its offer to acquire the roughly 50% stake in Clearwire Corp. (CLWR) it doesn't already own, agreeing to pay $2.97 a share.
Sprint's move to consolidate Clearwire is seen as key to a strategy meant to disrupt the U.S. wireless market dominated by Verizon Wireless and AT&T Inc. (T).
Sprint said Monday the latest deal values Clearwire at $10 billion, including $5.5 billion of debt and spectrum lease obligations. The prior offer was worth $2.90 a share.
The new price is a 12% discount to Clearwire's Friday close. Shares of the company, which controls large swaths of wireless airwaves, were recently trading at $3.08 premarket, down 8.6%.
Last week Clearwire shareholder Mount Kellett Capital Management LP openly opposed Sprint's previous acquisition offer as opportunistic and undervaluing the smaller company. The private investment firm run by former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) executives owns 53.2 million shares, or about 7.3% of Clearwire's non-Sprint shares. Sprint currently owns 50.45% of Clearwire.
Clearwire's board recommends the new deal. Sprint said Clearwire has also received commitments from Comcast Corp. (CMCSA, CMCSK), Intel Corp. (INTC) and Bright House Networks LLC, who collectively own about 13% of Clearwire's voting shares.
Japanese wireless provider Softbank Corp. (9984.TO), which is acquiring a 70% stake in Sprint for $20 billion, also provided its consent to the transaction.

-Thomas Gryta contributed to this report.