Sprint - Nextel 2014 Annual Report Download - page 3

Table of Contents
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SPRINT CORPORATION
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
ANNUAL REPORT ON FORM 10-K
PART I
Item 1. Business
FORMATION
Sprint Corporation, incorporated in 2012 under the laws of Delaware, is a holding company, with operations
conducted by its subsidiaries. Our common stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the symbol "S."
On July 9, 2013, Sprint Nextel Corporation, a Kansas corporation organized in 1938 (Sprint Nextel), completed the
acquisition of the remaining equity interests in Clearwire Corporation and its consolidated subsidiary Clearwire
Communications LLC (together "Clearwire") that it did not previously own (Clearwire Acquisition) in an all cash transaction
for approximately $3.5 billion, net of cash acquired of $198 million, which provided us with control of 2.5 gigahertz (GHz)
spectrum and tower resources.
On July 10, 2013, SoftBank Corp. and certain of its wholly-owned subsidiaries (together, "SoftBank") completed
the merger (SoftBank Merger) with Sprint Nextel as contemplated by the Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of October
15, 2012 (as amended, the Merger Agreement) and the Bond Purchase Agreement, dated as of October 15, 2012 (as amended,
the Bond Agreement). As a result of the SoftBank Merger, Starburst II, Inc. (Starburst II) became the parent company of Sprint
Nextel. Immediately thereafter, Starburst II changed its name to Sprint Corporation and Sprint Nextel changed its name to
Sprint Communications, Inc. (Sprint Communications). As a result of the completion of the SoftBank Merger in which
SoftBank acquired an approximate 78% interest in Sprint Corporation, and subsequent open market stock purchases, SoftBank
owned approximately 79% of the outstanding common stock of Sprint Corporation as of March 31, 2015.
Successor and Predecessor Periods and Reporting Obligations
In connection with the close of the SoftBank Merger (as described above), Sprint Corporation became the
successor registrant to Sprint Nextel under Rule 12g-3 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Exchange Act) and is the entity
subject to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act for filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
subsequent to the close of the SoftBank Merger. The financial information herein distinguishes between the predecessor period
(Predecessor) relating to Sprint Communications for periods prior to the SoftBank Merger and the successor period
(Successor) relating to Sprint Corporation, formerly known as Starburst II, for periods subsequent to the incorporation of
Starburst II on October 5, 2012. In addition, in order to align with SoftBank’s reporting schedule, we changed our fiscal year
end from December 31 to March 31, effective March 31, 2014. References herein to any fiscal year refer to the twelve-month
period ending March 31 unless otherwise specifically noted.
OVERVIEW
Sprint Corporation and its subsidiaries is a communications company offering a comprehensive range of wireless
and wireline communications products and services that are designed to meet the needs of consumers, businesses, government
subscribers and resellers. Unless the context otherwise requires, references to "Sprint," "we," "us," "our" and the "Company"
mean Sprint Corporation and its consolidated subsidiaries for all periods presented, inclusive of Successor and Predecessor
periods, and references to "Sprint Communications" are to Sprint Communications, Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries. We
are the third largest wireless communications company in the U.S. based on wireless revenue, as well as a provider of wireline
services. Our services are provided through our ownership of extensive wireless networks, an all-digital global wireline
network and a Tier 1 Internet backbone.
We offer wireless and wireline services to subscribers in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands
under the Sprint corporate brand, which includes our retail brands of Sprint®, Boost Mobile®, Virgin Mobile®, and Assurance
Wireless® on our wireless networks utilizing various technologies including third generation (3G) code division multiple
access (CDMA), fourth generation (4G) services utilizing Long Term Evolution (LTE) and Worldwide Interoperability for
Microwave Access (WiMAX) technologies (which we expect to shut-down by the end of calendar year 2015). We utilize these
networks to offer our wireless and wireline subscribers differentiated products and services whether through the use of a single
network or a combination of these networks.