Sprint - Nextel 2015 Annual Report Download - page 3

Table of Contents
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., which subsequently changed its name to SoftBank Group 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 83% of
the outstanding common stock of Sprint Corporation as of March 31, 2016 .
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 one of
the largest wireless communications companies in the United States (U.S.), 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). We also offered
Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) technologies until that network was shut-down on March 31, 2016. 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.
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