Article: Sprint to Buy Out Nextel Partners; $6.5 Billion Deal Ends Battle Over Affiliate's Value

Sprint Nextel Corp. agreed yesterday to pay $6.5 billion to buy out the shareholders of Nextel Partners Inc., ending a dispute over the value of the Kirkland, Wash.-based company, which offers mobile phone service under the Nextel brand.

The settlement removes a distraction that has loomed over Sprint since its August merger with Nextel Communications Inc.

Sprint Nextel said it would pay $28.50 per share for the roughly 69 percent of Nextel Partners it does not already own.

The Reston-based company, the nation's third-largest mobile phone provider, was obliged to buy out Nextel Partners shareholders under a long-standing agreement between Nextel and Nextel Partners.

Nextel Partners, which ...

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