Nextel Partners sets shareholder vote

Nextel Partners, the affiliate of Sprint Nextel Corp that is seeking to exercise the “put right” provided by its certificate of incorporation, announced today that it has set a special meeting of Class A shareholders for Oct. 24.

The company said it will start mailing of definitive proxy materials to these stockholders to vote on exercising the put right. The ability to exercise was triggered by the recent merger of Sprint Corp and Nextel Communications, which owns 32% of Nextel Partners.

If a majority of shareholders vote in favor of exercising the put right, Nextel WIP Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of Nextel Communications, would be required to purchase all outstanding shares of Nextel Partners' Class A common stock at a fair market value price determined under an appraisal proceeding that is described in the proxy materials, according to a statement from Nextel Partners.

A special committee of the Nextel Partners board of directors has unanimously recommended that shareholders vote in favor of the action.

The Oct. 24 meeting will take place at a hotel in Bellevue, Wash., near the Nextel Partners headquarters, and is for Class A shareholders of record as of Sept. 9.