Investment firm Mount Kellett wrote to the board of troubled US wholesale operator Clearwire, urging them not to allow the company to reach the point where the only option is an acquisition by Sprint, at a price that "reflects [Clearwire’s] distress rather than the full value the stockholders could achieve if the buildout is finished or is clearly capable of being finished".

Mount Kellett, which owns around 7.3 percent of Clearwire, noted that the company currently holds 60MHz to 80MHz of excess spectrum within its footprint, at a time when this resource is commanding premium prices, and with the sale of some of this, "Clearwire’s liquidity issues would be resolved".

The move comes shortly after Sprint moved to gain control of Clearwire through the acquisition of shares from Eagle River Holdings, with the resulting right to designate a majority of the board directors – who will not be required to act independently.

It was noted that Clearwire’s buildout programme has an estimated funding gap of more than US$1 billion and, based on its announced spending rate, only has enough cash to continue as planned for around a year. It said that, "perhaps not coincidentally", a standstill agreement that prevents Sprint from acquiring 100 percent of Clearwire, unless approved by a majority of both the board and shareholders unaffiliated with Sprint, expires at around the same time.

According to Mount Kellett, using AT&T’s acquisition of NextWave, which was a "distressed sale" due to NextWave’s precarious financial position, to create a spectrum valuation, Clearwire could generate US$6 billion to US$9 billion from the sale of all of its excess spectrum – more than the current enterprise value of Clearwire – and the sale of "only a substantial portion, but not all" of the excess would resolve its liquidity problems.

The investment firm said it acquired the shares because it considers Clearwire to be "substantially undervalued". It said that if the liquidity issue is resolved, "not only will the value of [Clearwire’s] remaining spectrum be properly highlighted, but also [Clearwire] will have a multitude of options on how to proceed".

In contrast, "holding on to excess spectrum and letting that value accrue to Sprint, so that Sprint can purchase the Company's excess spectrum cheaply would be an egregious violation of stockholder interests".