ClearWire IPO Raises $600 Million

ClearWire Corp., a Kirkland, Wash.-based WiMAX company, priced 24 million common shares at $25 per share ($23-$25 range), for an IPO take of approximately $600 million. It had originally filed to raise just $400 million, before increasing its target to $500 million in an amended filing. The extra $100 million came after Clearwire opted to up its number of offered shares from 20 million to 25 million. It will trade on the Nasdaq under ticker symbol CLWR, while Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan served as co-lead underwriters. Seven other banks also participated. ClearWire has raised around $1.2 billion in private equity funding, including a $900 million infusion last year led by Intel Capital. Other significant shareholders include < ?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />BellCanada, Motorola and company founder Craig McCaw. www.clearwire.com< ?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />