Sprint - Nextel 2013 Annual Report Download - page 22

Table of Contents
by intentional or inadvertent actions or inactions by our employees or those of a third
- party service provider. We also purchase equipment from third parties
that could contain software defects, Trojan horses, malware, or other means by which third parties could access our network or the information stored or
transmitted on such networks or equipment. As a result, our business information, or subscriber or supplier data may be lost, disclosed, accessed, used,
corrupted, destroyed or taken without consent.
Any major compromise of our data or network security, failure to prevent or mitigate the loss of our services or customer information and delays in
detecting any such compromise or loss could disrupt our operations, impact our reputation and subscribers' willingness to purchase our service and subject us
to additional costs and liabilities, including litigation, which could be material.
Any acquisitions, strategic investments or mergers may subject us to significant risks, any of which may harm our business.
As part of our long term strategy, we regularly evaluate potential acquisitions, strategic investments and mergers and actively engage in discussions
with potential counterparties. Over time, we may acquire, make investments in, or merge with companies that complement or expand our business. Some of these
potential transactions could be significant relative to the size of our business and operations. Acquisitions would involve a number of risks and present
financial, managerial and operational challenges, including:
Certain of these risks may also apply to the recently consummated Clearwire Acquisition. For any or all of these reasons, our pursuit of an
acquisition, investment or merger may cause our actual results to differ materially from those anticipated.
Our business could be negatively impacted by threats and other disruptions.
Major equipment failures, natural disasters, including severe weather, terrorist acts or breaches of network or information technology security that
affect our wireline and wireless networks, including transport facilities, communications switches, routers, microwave links, cell sites or other equipment or third
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party owned local and long - distance networks on which we rely, could have a material adverse effect on our operations.
These events could disrupt our operations, require significant resources, result in a loss of subscribers or impair our ability to attract new subscribers, which in
turn could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
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diversion of management attention from running our existing business;
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possible material weaknesses in internal control over financial reporting;
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increased expenses including legal, administrative and compensation expenses related to newly hired employees;
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increased costs to integrate the networks, spectrum, technology, personnel, subscriber base and business practices of the company involved in
the acquisition, strategic investment or merger with our business;
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potential exposure to material liabilities not discovered in the due diligence process or as a result of any litigation arising in connection with
such transactions;
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potential adverse effects on our reported operating results due to possible write - downs of goodwill and other intangible assets associated with
acquisitions;
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significant transaction expenses in connection with any such transaction, whether consummated or not;
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risks related to our ability to obtain any required regulatory approvals necessary to consummate any such transaction;
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acquisition financing may not be available on reasonable terms or at all and any such financing could significantly increase our outstanding
indebtedness or otherwise affect our capital structure or credit ratings; and
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any acquired or merged business, technology, service or product may significantly under - perform relative to our expectations, and we may not
achieve the benefits we expect from our transaction.