"NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Clearwire Corp. (CLWR) said it is weighing multiple offers for its wireless spectrum, but doesn't expect to make a decision until the second quarter, as the company attempts to firm up its financial footing.
Clearwire is looking to sell some of its unused spectrum to shore up its balance sheet, a major concern as the company continues to burn through cash. It posted a wider fourth-quarter loss on Thursday despite a surge in customers.
Despite a debt offering in December, the company said it had enough funds to last through the middle of this year.
Clearwire said it has received bids from multiple interested parties seeking a varying amount of spectrum, adding that some of the parties expressed interest in exploring other strategic transactions. The company is evaluating the offers, and said it is delaying the conclusion until the second quarter.
Chief Executive Bill Morrow said he has a strong preference to secure an additional strategic investment.
Clearwire's other option is to obtain additional financing from Sprint Nextel Corp. (S), which already owns 54% of the company.
Sprint CEO Dan Hesse told Dow Jones Newswires last week that his company hasn't begun to evaluate the possibility of providing financing to Clearwire.
He also ruled out buying Clearwire outright.
Clearwire is building and managing the 4G network powering the service that Sprint sells to its customers, but the companies have had their differences.
The companies disagree on how much Sprint should pay Clearwire as a wholesale customer. Clearwire said the companies have held "productive discussions" about the dispute.
"Dan Hesse and I have regular discussions, and we're both encouraged by the progress of our teams," Morrow told analysts. "The relationship is healthy and strong."
Morrow said Clearwire is focused on coming up with a resolution, which he believes is imminent, before deciding upon its spectrum options.
Sprint has also been irked by Clearwire's retail presence, which in some areas competes against Sprint.
Clearwire said on Thursday that it plans to aggressively grow its wholesale business and reduce expenses, but added that it plans to "prudently pace our retail growth."
It still expects double-digit percentage customer growth from its retail business this year.
To conserve cash, Clearwire in November suspended its future retail plans, including delaying the launch of a smartphone using its Clear brand, cut 15% of its work force, and cut its plans to expand its network beyond what it had originally planned.
The company said it plans to roll out its network to other markets once it obtains more financing.
Clearwire's move to limit its retail presence has helped to ease tensions between the two companies, according to people familiar with the situation.
"We'll be tied at the hip for quite some time," Morrow said about Clearwire and Sprint.
While Clearwire's retail presence isn't expected to contribute much growth, its wholesale business has performed strongly. Sprint, the largest wholesale customer, has hinged much of its turnaround on the successful adoption of 4G smartphones and services. The companies, however, face more competition with every other carrier touting a 4G service of their own.
For the latest period, Clearwire added 1.5 million subscribers, bring its total base to 4.4 million from 688,000 a year earlier. It said it expects to end the year with 8.8 million subscribers.
Clearwire reported a loss of $128 million, compared with a loss of $98.7 million a year earlier. On a per-share basis, the loss was 53 cents compared with 55 cents a year earlier, as the number of shares outstanding increased. Revenue more than doubled, to $180.7 million. "
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