Sprint buy iPCS in $831m deal: quell ongoing litigation

Sprint continues its acquisitions process, with the latest to be gobbled up being affiliate iPCS.  Currently sold as Sprint service in the carrier's own stores, Sprint envisage the transition process to be pretty much seamless; even better, the $831m acquisition will see the end of ongoing litigation between them and iPCS, and Sprint will no longer be required to divest its iDEN network in certain iPCS territories.

iPCS had been attempting to legally prevent Sprint from operating the Nextel network in areas iPCS have coverage, with the legal battle dating back to Sprint's acquisition of Nextel in 2005.  The deal means that only two affiliates remain distinct from Sprint, Shentel, and Swiftel, and is expected to be completed in late 2009 or early 2010.

Press Release:

Sprint Nextel to Acquire Wireless Affiliate iPCS, Inc.

More than 700,000 PCS Wireless Users and 270,000 Wholesale Customers to Become Sprint Direct Subscribers

Extends Company's Direct Service Territory to an Additional 12.6 Million People

Sprint Ends Plan to Divest iDEN Network Assets in Certain Midwestern States Pending Transaction Close

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. & SCHAUMBURG, Ill.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Oct. 19, 2009– Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE: S) and iPCS, Inc. (NASDAQ: IPCS) today announced an agreement for Sprint Nextel to acquire iPCS for approximately $831 million, including the assumption of $405 million of net debt. This transaction value represents 6.4x projected 2010 Adjusted Earnings Before Income, Taxes, and Depreciation ("Adjusted EBITDA"*). Sprint expects to achieve approximately $30 million of synergies annually in the transaction and expects the transaction to be free cash flow accretive to Sprint in 2010.

Under the terms of the agreement, Sprint Nextel will commence a cash tender offer to acquire all of iPCS' outstanding common shares for $24.00 per share. This price per share represents a 34 percent premium to iPCS' closing stock price as of October 16, 2009. The agreement also requires a minimum of a majority of the shares outstanding (on a fully-diluted basis) to be tendered in the offer. Following completion of the tender offer, any remaining shares of iPCS will be acquired in a cash merger at the same price per share. Shareholders with approximately 9.5 percent of the outstanding common shares of iPCS have already agreed to tender their shares pursuant to the tender offer and to vote their shares in favor of the merger.

The acquisition is subject to customary regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions, and is expected to be completed either late in the fourth quarter of 2009 or early 2010. As part of the agreement, Sprint Nextel and iPCS will seek an immediate stay of all pending litigation between the parties with a final resolution to become effective upon closing of the acquisition.

As a result, Sprint will no longer be required to divest its iDEN network in certain iPCS territories and will terminate its previously announced divestiture process pending closing of the transaction.

iPCS's services are sold under the Sprint brand name and in Sprint-branded stores. Because of the nearly seamless marketing and sales relationship between Sprint and iPCS, customers should not experience any change in their service as a result of this transaction.

"Acquiring iPCS brings added value to Sprint by expanding our direct customer base, growing our direct coverage area and simplifying our business operations," said Dan Hesse, CEO of Sprint Nextel. "Customers in iPCS territory will see a seamless transition and continue to enjoy a superb customer experience."

"We are very pleased to have reached this agreement with Sprint Nextel. Given the increasingly competitive landscape, we believe this is an opportune time to provide our shareholders with a liquidity event at a very attractive price. iPCS shareholders will receive a significant and immediate premium for their shares and our customers will continue to receive the same excellent service from the same dedicated people who provide that service today," said Timothy M. Yager, president and CEO of iPCS. "We look forward to working with the Sprint Nextel team to ensure a smooth completion of the transaction and transition in the coming months."

*Financial Measures

Certain financial measures included in this release have been generated using adjustments to amounts determined under generally accepted accounting principles (non-GAAP). The non-GAAP financial measures reflect industry conventions, or standard measures of liquidity, profitability or performance commonly used by the investment community for comparability purposes. The financial measures used in this release include the following:

Adjusted EBITDA is defined as operating income plus depreciation, amortization and special items. We believe that Adjusted EBITDA provides useful information to investors because it is an indicator of the strength and performance of ongoing business operations. While depreciation and amortization are considered operating costs under generally accepted accounting principles, these expenses primarily represent non-cash current period allocation of costs associated with long-lived assets acquired or constructed in prior periods.

Net Debt is debt, including current maturities, less cash and equivalents and current marketable securities.

ADVISORS

Sprint's financial advisor for the transaction was Citigroup Global Markets Inc. and its principal legal advisor was King & Spalding LLP. iPCS's financial advisors were UBS Investment Bank and Morgan Stanley & Co. Incorporated and its principal legal advisor was Mayer Brown LLP.

NOTICE TO INVESTORS

The planned tender offer described in this release has not yet commenced. The description contained in this release is not an offer to buy or the solicitation of an offer to sell securities. At the time the planned tender offer is commenced, Sprint Nextel will file a tender offer statement on Schedule TO with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), and iPCS will file a solicitation/recommendation statement on Schedule 14D-9 with respect to the planned tender offer. The tender offer statement (including an offer to purchase, a related letter of transmittal and other tender offer documents) and the solicitation/recommendation statement will contain important information that should be read carefully before making any decision to tender securities in the planned tender offer. Those materials will be made available to iPCS's stockholders at no expense to them. In addition, all of those materials (and all other tender offer documents filed with the SEC) will be made available at no charge on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov.