Clearwire IPO Take Two
from the play-it-again-Craig dept
Earlier this summer, WiMAX operator Clearwire filed and then quickly withdrew plans for an IPO, after Intel bestowed the company with a whopping $600 million investment, and Motorola bought its equipment unit for $300 million, ensuring that one of the biggest proponents of the technology would have all the cash it needs, free from public market scrutiny. Apparently that $900 million wasn't actually enough to tide the company over, as it's now re-submitted plans to go public, to raise another $400 million. It's quite a testament to the massive capex requirements for this company, that it needs to tap the public markets so soon after such a large infusion of cash. And it's worth noting that the amount the company expects to take in from the public is much less than it's received in the private market, confirming perhaps that its investors (primarily Intel) have given the company so much money, not because they anyone thinks it's a good investment, because they just want it to succeed. And yet, things don't look a whole lot better for the company. According to the S-1, the company's subscriber growth isn't particularly impressive, given how small its base is, along with all of the money (and hype) it's received. Since the start of the year, it's added about 130,000 subscribers, bringing the total to 188,000. And after bleeding away $200 million in the first nine months of the year, the company still has no timeline for profitability. The one factor working in its favor is the overall market. The stock market was weak this summer, and the offering might have been associated with Vonage's botched IPO. Now, with the market at record highs, and a slew of successful offerings of late, it should at least benefit from better conditions.Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
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Sticking up for Clearwire
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Re:
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Re: don't get you hopes up.
Clearwire is not targeting Rural Markets (althought they say they are) They do not have ANY footprint in rural markets at this time and have no plans to. They are targeting exisiting highly dense populated areas just like cable and DSL. They think they can pull a large chunk off the market share away from the competition. Tough nut to crack if you ask me especially considering most of their customers are coming from dial-up. Also their churn rate is not being reported accurately. because they are not a public company they go by different rules. They can basically say whatever they want. Clearwire does NOT count churn (deactived customers) if:
The return is made in the first 180 days
If the return is made because the customer moved
If the return is made because the service is not working properly
If the customer retuens modem due to lack of coverage.
ALL of these reasons are counted as "Pull-Backs" within the organization and not counted as true churn numbers. That's why they can get away with saying their churn is below 2%.
If everyone was allowed to do that churn would be eliminated on the books altogether. This is exactly whay Charter was charged with a few years ago. Maybe that part of the reson Clearwire is scared ro go public. Then investors get to look at the REAL numbers.
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Re: Re: don't get you hopes up.
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Proving . . . what?
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NextNet
Not too shabby... for Moto.
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subscriber numbers
limited markets and more to do with the limited service and
poor tech support. I can only get a signal from one spot in
my house and the window has to be open. That's not too
great in Florida during a sweltering summer. And, even when I have a great signal, if there is a lot of traffic, there's
no way I'm getting on. I've had Sundays when I couldn't
get on for five hours. My first call to the local office was
returned five days later. My second call was never returned.
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Re: subscriber numbers
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Clearwire going public
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I see a growth company!
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Re: I see a growth company!
Seriously, Craig McCaw has played this game before and won bigtime. ClearWire (WiMax) is definitely a disruptive technology. The IPO and cash infusions are just the beginning of their needs. A National or Multinational buildout will take billions. The major cell-phone companies have mutli-billion dollar network buildout budgets annually. I expect that here as well.
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why is IPO total so low?
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why is IPO total so low?
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Kite Networks is another IPO that is coming
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Clearwire IPO hype
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who is underwriting clearwire ipo
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Re: who is underwriting clearwire ipo
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Date of IPO listing
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clearwire = not so clear
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NextWave
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Call me at Merrill Lynch
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Re: Call me at Merrill Lynch ext. 5869
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Clearwire Boycott
Since 2003, three of the president's four fund-raising trips to Washington have taken him to Medina, where he has collected $4.5 million for the Republicans. A Craig McCaw–hosted event raised $1.7 million of that. The grateful president in turn last year appointed Craig McCaw's second wife, Susan, a venture capitalist, as U.S. ambassador to Austria. ---SEATTLE WEEKLY http://www.seattleweekly.com/news/0633/playhouse.php
http://www.google.com/search?q=clearwire+mccaw+bush+hunts+point
Here is what it looked like in 2004 when Bush came to Hunt's Point. Many of you stood with me, including OKelly, Gary, Jack and Jack, and many others. http://www.epjc.net/op/StopBush.htm
Clearwire is an evil company. McCaw supports the Republican Party in order to gain business advantage, regulatory favors, provisions and earmarks in the Congress.
DON'T BE FOOLED -- warn all your friends, this is not a good company to switch your Internet service to. As long as McCaw is involved, regard this as a completely as equivalent to Bush and Cheney, on their ethics and style of doing business. Consider this like ENRON, for example.
An internet provider has many, many ethical choices involving your privacy, your quality of service, and your freedom and liberty. Would you trust Bush to provide net neutrality? Would you trust Bush and Cheney not to delay your email, or block progressive bloggers during elections or wars or invasions? Well then, you shouldn't trust Clearwire.
I feel Clearwire a direct threat to our civil liberties. They *are* the Republican Party. It is like FOX News. FOX News *is* the Republican Party. It doesn't just report a Republican slant. Their behavior is conscious and strategic to promote the interests of Republicans.
Again look at the 84th st bridge into Hunts Point in front of Craig McCaw's house http://www.epjc.net/op/StopBush.htm McCaw organized this whole thing, shook the tree, got all the Repubs to pay $1.7 million to Bush-- this was AFTER the invasion of Iraq. AFTER the war was proven to be a fraud.
An Internet ISP makes so many choices, behind the scenes, that affect your connectivity. It is impossible to regulate these many detailed decisions. Will they snoop your data? or allow their corporate pals to snoop? Will they censor or block? Will they extort fees?
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IPO Clearwire eeeeK!!!
Now that it has, you will see their technology will be sold off next. The product is a good one but not a good substitute for true DSL. Why they call it mobile broadband is strange as it should be Mobilr BB DSL.
So, everyone expecting it to work like cable BB are unhappy and those who know what how bad DSL is are really disappointed.
Would I buy the stock? Perhaps after the IPO and it slides in to the pink sheets. I would buy a long term put option to sell at the IPO price. This stock will have a 2 year life span. It takes that long of peak and valley trading as the intial offerors slowly pump and dump their shares and distance themselves from the specialists.
I believe the only real alternative to cable is satellite but the Clearview product would have been a great batery operated one so you never would need a credit card in a hot spot again.
And that, alas, is the future of Clearwire. Everyone with a briefcase will have one, a generic and this company will never catch their own wave.
If only that had been truthful and learned something about rechargeable batteries!!!!!
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IPO
interl had loaned then a large sum and motorola had
something to do with it. I dunno. anyone who is involved wih
the gang of 4 is going to get burned. Everything smells
that they touched. Mr. brain damaged what me worry? is
banking millions...there is about 7 bllion cash missing in
Iraq. The uditors report will never see the light of day,
just like they covered their ass and destroyed the torture photos. The democrats ae every bit as bad...The supreme court is a rubber stamp for our man. The republicans arent really worried. They are controlling the congress, supreme court, and just in case something slips by, they also control the money and the lobby, so it's all a big hand job,
There will be a lot of talk and nothing more. The republicans want their precious tax cuts for the rich, subsidies, for the rich..of course....more gashog, oil burning goliaths on the highways, big business will lobby
and get the right to pollute, and now the emphasis goes from smoking to food being the cause of all the problems.
the poor dont have spAS, and evian water, special food flown in that is low on calories, they eat macaroni helper, with fake cheese and federally mandated corn syrup to help the farmers and F...K the poor. Everything is their fault.
The fix is still in on the war, lets see the enemy is US!!
We need more wiretaps,and jails and listening devices, and
spies in the neighborhood, never mind old Ben, he's a friend of the family who was in BUSINESS WITH OLD MAN bUSH,, bin laden was a ladies man, into drgs and alcohol and he lived in Beverly Hills. tHE SAME DAY of the bombings the family of the ringleader, bin laden were esorted safely out of the US. The war is a ploy to put trillions into the mideast. Just a few weeks before the planes going into WTC,
the owner of the buildings upped the insurance on the buildings and made a profit of 150 million dollars. They blamed the fire for bringing down the buildings, only flames dont burn that hot. Many profited on the stockmarket
before the planes went in, but they say they cant check on who...thats nice, Im a teeny little trader and they know to the penney every trade I make, I guess its just the little guy who has to report. Read the Esquire magazine report. It will blow your socks off.
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