Clearwire Investor Crest Financial Supports Spectrum Sale

Clearwire Corp. (CLWR) investor Crest Financial Ltd. voiced support for a proposal by fellow shareholder Mount Kellett Capital Management LP to sell Clearwire’s excess wireless spectrum.

Crest Financial echoed Mount Kellett’s concern that Sprint Nextel Corp. (S), Clearwire’s biggest shareholder, wasn’t acting in other investors’ interest. Crest Financial, in a letter to Mount Kellett that was distributed by PR Newswire, recommended the sale of excess spectrum and suggested Clearwire raise money through a stock offering.

Clearwire, which is attempting to build a high-speed national wireless network, needs additional funding to complete the system, said Houston-based Crest Financial, which owns a 6.6 percent stake in the company. Sprint, which leases Clearwire’s network to serve its mobile-phone customers, is the business’s largest customer.

Susan Johnston, a spokeswoman for Bellevue, Washington- based Clearwire, declined to comment, as did Bill White, a spokesman for Overland Park, Kansas-based Sprint.

Clearwire shares (CLWR) fell 3.6 percent to $2.12 at the close in New York, mirroring a broader market decline. The stock has climbed 9.3 percent this year.

To contact the reporter on this story: Nick Turner in New York at nturner7@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Nick Turner at nturner7@bloomberg.net