Dish Network withdrew its $4.40-a-share offer for Clearwire on Wednesday, nearly a week after the bid was trumped with a sweetened proposal by Sprint Nextel.
The decision means that Sprint is now free to buy the roughly 50 percent of Clearwire that it does not already own, subject to a vote by Clearwire shareholders on July 8.
It also comes about a week after Dish walked away from a $25.5 billion bid to buy Sprint itself after a higher takeover offer from SoftBank of Japan.
Wednesday’s announcement marks the second official setback in Dish’s efforts to expand from satellite television into cellphone service. Through both deal offers, the company had sought to find a partner that would help it make use of its hoard of wireless spectrum.
Though Dish could never buy full control of Clearwire because Sprint was unlikely to part with its holdings, it would have gained significant negotiating leverage over its new, unwilling partner. Its bid was welcomed by Clearwire shareholders unhappy with Sprint’s previous offers, a group that included hedge funds like Crest Financial.
But with its most recent offer, worth $5 a share, Sprint managed to secure nearly all the votes it would need to prevail at a shareholder vote.
It isn’t clear what Dish and its chairman, Charles Ergen, wi! ll do next, though analysts speculate that the company will turn its attention to another wireless services provider like T-Mobile US.
