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Sprint to sell part of network on court ruling

NEW YORK
Fri Jun 12, 2009 2:49pm EDT
Dan Hesse, Chief Executive Officer of Sprint Nextel Corp., is silhouetted during a news conference announcing the launch of the Palm Pre smartphone in New York June 5, 2009. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Sprint Nextel said on Friday it was looking to sell parts of its network assets to comply with an Illinois court ruling requiring it to sell or shut down its iDEN network.

Sprint took on the iDEN network when it acquired Nextel Communications in 2005. But an Illinois court had ruled that Sprint must cease owning or operating the iDEN network in parts of Illinois, Iowa, Michigan and Nebraska, where its affiliate iPCS operates.

The sale is expected to be fully completed ahead of a court-ordered deadline of January 25, 2010, Sprint said. The company's shares rose 4.33 percent to $5.30.

Sprint said it would hold onto the rest of its iDEN network assets and that the sale in parts of the Midwest will have "a de minimis impact" on its financial results.

(Reporting by Ritsuko Ando; Editing by Richard Chang)


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