Dish Network said on Tuesday that it would not submit a new takeover bid for Sprint Nextel ahead of the 11:59 p.m. deadline and would instead focus on its bid for a stake in Clearwire. That apparently leaves Sprint free to complete the sale of a majority stake to SoftBank of Japan for $21.6 billion, DealBook’s Michael J. de la Merced writes.
Dish said in a statement that it still saw merit in a merger with Sprint, but said that conditions imposed by Sprint’s revised arrangement with SoftBank made it “impracticable†to put together a fresh bid in time. Those requirements included a shareholder rights plan limiting outside investors other than SoftBank and a demand that any rival bid have fully committed financing. “We will consider our options with respect to Sprint, and focus our efforts and resources o completing the Clearwire tender offer,†Dish said in a statement.
Dish now “has a stronger path to victory by pursuing its bid for Clearwire,†Mr. de la Merced says. “While Dish cannot buy all of Clearwire â€" Sprint already owns about 50 percent, and is set to raise that stake to about 65 percent through agreements with other big shareholders â€" it stands to gain a significant say in the governance of the company. And it will have additional leverage with Sprint.â€
REGULATORS DIVIDED OVER CONSULTANTS  | Federal and state regulators are united in a concern that consulting firms have produced shoddy work for banks, but they took divergent stances toward the consulting industry on Tuesday. “While federal authorities seemed to reinforce the industry’s power, a state agency tried to undercut it,†Ben Protess and Jessica Silver-Greenberg write in DealBook. The Federal Reserve ordered a large regional bank to hire a consulting firm to comb through high-risk customer accounts, reinforcing the impression that the consulting industry had become a shadow regulator for Wall Street. At the same time, New York State’s top financial regulator, Benjamin M. Lawsky, imposed a $10 million fine and a one-year ban on Deloitte, a prominent consultant that he accused of “misconduct.â€
“It is unclear whether actions by state regulators like Mr. Lawsky â€" who has a history of irking his federal counterparts by running ahead of them â€" portend an overhaul of the consulting industry or a coming clash of state and federal banking regulators,†DealBook writes. “Some federal authorities who spoke on the condition of anonymity argued that while they depended on consultants, they were quietly rethinking the reliance on the outside firms. The federal regulators further note that they could punish banks that failed to improve and could instruct a bank to replace any consulting firm that had erred.â€
GOOGLE PUSHES REGULATORY BOUNDARIES  | In acquiring Waze, a social maps company, Google is aggressively pushing the boundaries of the law, Steven M. Davidoff writes in the Deal Professor column. Typically, buyers of companies are required to supply regulators with a Hart-Scott-Rodino filing, allowing them time to review the transaction for compliance with antitrust laws. “Yet Google’s only announcement of the deal appears to say that the companies signed and closed the deal that day, leaving Google the proud owner of Waze. According to a person close to Google, the company skipped the Hart-Scott-Rodino filing by relying on an exemption. This filing is not requ! ired if t! he acquisition is of a foreign company that has sales and assets in the United States of less than $60.9 million. Waze is an Israeli company with headquarters in Silicon Valley, so it comes under this test,†Mr. Davidoff writes.
“Google may be playing hardball with the government here. Psychologically, it may be harder for the government to undo something that is done. And once Google acquires this company, it will become harder to force it to undo any integration it may have done with its own services.â€
ON THE AGENDA  | Wall Street will be closely watching an announcement at 2 p.m. on Federal Reserve policy. While the expectation is that the Fed will leave rates unchanged, the statement will be scrutinized for any hint of the central bank’s plans to reduce its stimulus. Ben S. Bernanke, the Fed chairman, holds a news conference after the announcement. FedEx reports earnings before the maket opens. Jan Hatzius, the chief economist of Goldman Sachs, is on Bloomberg TV at 10 a.m. Jeffrey Gundlach of DoubleLine Capital is on CNBC at 12:30 p.m.
A WORRISOME SIGN FROM JEFFERIES  | The Jefferies Group on Tuesday reported unexpectedly weak bond trading results for its second quarter, amid turbulence in the markets. The question now is whether other investment banks have been similarly hurt, DealBook’s Peter Eavis writes. “Though Jefferies is not as large as Goldman Sachs or JPMorgan Chase, it is an experienced bond-trading firm that weathered the severe storms that have buffeted markets since the financial crisis of 2008. It was no surprise, then, that Wall Street shuddered a little after Jefferies reported second-quarter fixed-income revenue that was down 27 percent fro! m a year ! earlier.â€
Icahn Buys Half of Southeastern’s Stake in Dell  | Carl C. Icahn and Southeastern remain allied in their bid to defeat the takeover offer by Michael Dell and the investment firm Silver Lake. DealBook »
Dalian Wanda of China to Spend $1.6 Billion on Yacht Maker and London Hotel  | The property developer Dalian Wanda said on Wednesday that acquiring the yacht maker Sunseeker International and building a luxury hotel in London would help it branch into new markets outside China. DealBook »
Huawei Would Be Open to Buying Nokia  | Richard Yu, chairman of Huawei’s consumer business group, told The Financial Times: “We are considering these sorts of acquisitions; maybe the combination has some synergies but depends on the willingness of Nokia. We are open-minded.†FINANCIAL TIMES
Royalty Pharma Drops Bid for Elan  | The decision to withdraw the takeover offer for the Irish drug company ends a fierce four-month acquisition battle. DealBook »
Duke Energy Taps Financial Officer to Be Next Chief  |Â
REUTERS
Vodafone the Best Bet to Buy German Cable Giant  | Vodafone has stronger finances than Liberty Global, Quentin Webb of Reuters Breakingviews writes. It can wring bigger savings from Kabel Deutschland, and may also irk regulators less. REUTERS BREAKINGVIEWS
High-Frequency Firms Said to Be in Merger Talks  | RGM Advisors and Allston Trading, two of the large high-frequency trading firms in the United States, “have discussed a deal that would combine their respective strengths in automated stock trading and futures markets, according to people close to the talks,†The Wall Street Journal reports. WALL STREET JOURNAL
An Investment Hangover, Real Estate Edition  | Bloomberg News writes: “Mortgage real-estate investment trusts raised $7.4 billion in the first quarter by selling new shares, the most in two years, just before a plunge in the value of the firms.†BLOOMBERG NEWS
A Trader’s Guide to Manipulating Oil Prices  | One oil trader, Halis Bektas, described to The Wall Street Journal one strategy he has used to manipulate prices. WALL STREET JOURNAL
How High Will Gold Go? Try ‘Infinity’  | Former Congressman Ron Paul, an outspoken believer in gold, predicted on CNBC that “the dollar will collapse totally†and gold prices “will go to infinity.†CNBC
Glencore Xstrata Secures a Big Loan at Low Rates  | Th commodities firm Glencore Xstrata “signed $17.3 billion of revolving credit facilities last week, paying a margin of 90 basis points more than benchmark rates for a three-year portion,†Bloomberg News reports. BLOOMBERG NEWS
BC Partners to Buy Academic Publisher for $4.4 Billion  | The European private equity firm has agreed to buy the academic publishing company Springer Science & Business Media from EQT Partners and the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation. DealBook Â! »
Google Looking to Team Up With Private Equity  | Google is “for the first time considering forging alliances with private-equity firms to help it structure deals,†Bloomberg News reports. BLOOMBERG NEWS
Terra Firma Real Estate Unit to Raise $1.5 Billion in I.P.O. Â |Â Terra Firma, the private equity firm run by Guy Hands, plans to raise as much as $1.5 billion through the initial public offering of the German real estate company Deutsche Annington. DEALBOOK
SunGard Said toExplore Sale of Unit  | SunGard Data Systems, which is owned by a group of private equity firms, “is exploring a sale of its data managing operations that could fetch up to $2 billion, several people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday,†Reuters reports. REUTERS
A Sign of Maturation in Hedge Fund Industry  | According to a Barclays report, the hedge fund industry is growing at a slower pace, with fewer funds being started, MarketWatch reports. MARKETWATCH
Hedge Funds Show a Softer Side  | At an industry conference in Monaco, hedge fund managers “latched onto the idea that social responsibility and making money could go hand in hand,†Reuters writes. REUTERS
Brazil Cement Giant Is Said to Cancel Planned I.P.O.  | Brazil’s largest cement producer, Votorantim Cimentos, was expected to raise as much as $4.7 billion in what would have been one of the largest I.P.O.’s globally in 2013. DealBook »
Online Game Maker Said to Hire Banks for I.P.O. Â |Â Midasplayer International Holding, which makes the Candy Crush Saga game, has tapped banks to handle a potential I.P.O., The Wall Street Journal reports, citing unidentified people familiar with the matter. WALL STREET JOURNAL
Instagram Said to Be Unveiling a Video Product  | AllThingsD reports: “Instagram plans to release a video product this Thursday at a press event at Facebook’s headqua! rters, ac! cording to multiple sources familiar with the matter.†ALLTHINGSD
Fab Design Site Said to Achieve $1 Billion Valuation  |Â
WALL STREET JOURNAL
Amazon Builds Grocery Business From Webvan’s Ashes  |Â
REUTERS
British Commission Calls for New Laws to Prosecute Bankers for Fraud  | As part of a 600-page report, the British parliamentary commission on banking standards is urging new laws that would make it a criminal offense to recklessly mismanage local financial institutions. DealBook »
Chiasson and Newman to Remain Free During Appeal, Court Rules  | A federal appeals court ruled that Anthony Chiasson, co-founder of Level Global Investors, and Todd Newman, a former portfolio manager at Diamondback Capital Management, will not have to report to prison while they fight their convictions. DealBook »
A Cleaned-Up Signature for Treasury Secretary Lew  |Â
TWITTER
Uncertainty Over the Fed’s Plans  | The New York Times writes: “The Federal Reserve chairman, Ben S. Bernanke, faces the increasingly difficult challenge of shaping investor expectations about the future course of Fed policy amid growing signs that the Bernanke era at the central bank is drawing to a close.†NEW YORK TIMES
Tribune Faces Potentally Big Tax Bill for Newsday and Cubs Deals  | The Tribune Company faces a potential tax bill of more than $500 million over the sales of the Chicago Cubs and Newsday despite efforts to minimize the tax consequences of both deals, the company disclosed on Monday. DealBook »
How the I.R.S. Encourages Oil and Gas Spinoffs  | A tax loophole has in effect become a subsidy for fossil fuel production, Victor Fleischer writes in the Standard Deduction column. DealBook »
Why More Inflation Might Help  | “A! heretica! l thought that first surfaced as the economic crisis gripped the world five years ago is again gaining traction among experts: economic policy should be aiming for significantly higher inflation than the 1 to 2 percent annual rate that the United States economy is currently experiencing,†Eduardo Porter writes in the Economic Scene column in The New York Times. NEW YORK TIMES
