Sprint Nextel Expects to Sell about $2 Billion in Notes

Sprint Nextel expects to come up with about $2 billion in debt by the sale of notes, according to news reports.

The money may be used for upgrading its network or funding of Clearwire Corp., according to a report from Reuters.

The company said the money raised will be used for “general corporate purposes.” Other possibilities, as explained in a company release, are for “redemptions or service requirements of outstanding debt, network expansion and modernization and potential funding of Clearwire Corporation and its subsidiary Clearwire Communications LLC.”

Sprint is expecting to spend some $7 billion to upgrade its network, Reuters adds. Sprint now has a majority of Clearwire.

The notes would be due in 2017 or 2020 and would be sold in a private transaction. The notes will be offered to qualified institutional buyers and to buyers outside the United States, as allowed by law, the company said. Reuters noted that Sprint sold $4 billion in bonds in November, 2011 for the network upgrade and to pay some of the $15 billion to Apple for costs associated with iPhone.

Sprint is the third-ranked mobile provider in the United States, according to Reuters.

In a related matter, Sprint CEO Dan Hesse will give the keynote address at GSMA Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2012 in Barcelona, Spain, on March 1. He will speak in a session titled “Driving the Mobile Technology Revolution.”

It is the first time a Sprint CEO has addressed the conference, the company said in a statement. "We are very pleased to have Dan Hesse joining us for the first time at Mobile World Congress 2012 in Barcelona,” Michael O'Hara, chief marketing officer, GSMA, was quoted as saying in a story on MobilityTechzone. "As a new LTE carrier and one of the leading players in the U.S. wireless industry, Hesse has a unique perspective on mobile today and in the future."

Over 60,000 people from 200 countries are expected to attend the conference.