CONSHOHOCKEN, Pa. (AFX) - Shareholders of UbiquiTel Inc. on Tuesday approved the wireless provider's sale to Sprint Nextel Corp. for $1 billion, the company said.
In addition, Sprint will assume $300 million in debt and pay $10.35 for each of the company's outstanding shares. The deal, the company said, is expected to close 'promptly.'
Conshohocken-based UbiquiTel provides Sprint-branded service to 452,000 subscribers in medium-sized cities in California, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Nevada, Tennessee, Utah, Washington and Wyoming. The company reported 2005 revenues of $423 million and employs 425 people.
Sprint spokesman David Gunasegaram said there hasn't been any discussion about potential job cuts but noted that affiliates typically work in areas in which the parent company doesn't have a presence.
Sprint Nextel -- based in Reston, Va., with operational headquarters in Overland Park, Kan. -- has acquired a majority of its affiliates since Sprint acquired Nextel Communications Inc. last August to create the nation's third-largest wireless provider.
The shareholder vote comes a day after Sprint Nextel closed its purchase of its largest affiliate, Nextel Partners Inc., for $6.5 billion.
UbiquiTel shares gained 11 cents to close at $10.35 in trading Tuesday on the Nasdaq Stock Market. Shares of Sprint Nextel, which have traded in a 52-week range of $19.33 to $27.20, gained 6 cents to close at $19.55 in trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
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