Sprint to sell network assets after ruling for Schaumburg company

Sprint NexteL Corp., the third- biggest U.S. wireless carrier, plans to sell some network assets in Midwestern states to comply with an Illinois court ruling in a dispute with IPCS Inc.

Sprint will sell parts of the network it acquired in the 2005 purchase of Nextel Communications Inc., the company said today in a statement. A state court judge ruled in 2006 that the operations infringe on the territorial rights of IPCS, which sells Sprint-branded service in the area as an affiliate.

The sale will have a minimal impact on Sprint’s financial results and won’t affect the separate wireless network it operates using Code Division Multiple Access, or CDMA, technology, the Overland Park, Kansas-based company said. In January, the court set a deadline of Jan. 25, 2010, for a sale.

Sprint gained 21 cents, or 4.1 percent, to $5.29 at 4 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. IPCS, based in Schaumburg, dropped $4.11, or 22 percent, to $14.93 on the Nasdaq Stock Market.

Cook County Circuit Judge Thomas Quinn ruled in 2006 that Sprint’s Nextel purchase put it in breach of agreements that led IPCS to invest more than $300 million on network infrastructure. Sprint unsuccessfully challenged the ruling before the Illinois Supreme Court.

The ruling affected Nextel network operations in Illinois, Michigan, Iowa and parts of Nebraska.

Citigroup Inc. is advising Sprint on the asset sale, the wireless company said.