Sprint Nextel wants to buy remainder of Clearwire

NEW YORK (AP) - Sprint Nextel is offering to buy the 49 percent of Clearwire that it doesn't already own for $2.1 billion.

Sprint Nextel Corp. said Thursday in a regulatory filing that its board reviewed a deal the day before that spells out specifics of the proposed transaction. The deal works out to $2.90 per share. Clearwire Corp. stock is up 27 cents, or 10 percent, to $3.02 in premarket trading.

Sprint uses Clearwire's network to provide "Sprint 4G," but it's building its own 4G network at the same time, and would like to see Clearwire upgrade its network to use a compatible technology. Clearwire is strapped financially, and lacks the funds for a comprehensive upgrade.

The deal was reported earlier this week by CNBC and The Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed sources.

AP-WF-12-13-12 1323GMT