Sprint buys sixth affiliate

Sprint is buying yet another affiliate, agreeing today to acquire Northern PCS Services for $312.5 million and pumping an additional 167,000 direct subscribers and 69,000 wholesale subscribers to Sprint’s dwindling CDMA subscriber base.

Northern PCS operates its network in small and mid-sized markets in Minnesota, North Dakota, Wisconsin and Iowa in a footprint covering 1.8 million people. It employs 240 people and recorded 2006 revenues of $130 million.

Northern is the sixth affiliate Sprint has purchased after its acquisition of Nextel last year violated many of its non-compete affiliate agreements -- Nextel operated in many of the same markets as Sprint’s partners. Last year, Sprint bought five of its affiliates, many of which were suing the company for contract breech, and Nextel Partners for a combined $14.5 billion, adding substantially more to the $36 million cost of the Nextel deal. More acquisitions may be on the horizon as three more affiliates with legal claims against Sprint remain.

Sprint said it expects the deal to close in the third quarter.