Sprint Nextel Corp. has declined an offer by South Korea’s SK Telecom and the private-equity firm Providence Equity Partners to invest $5 billion into the company and install SK Telecom former Chairman Tim Donahue as CEO, reports the Wall Street Journal.
Donahue and Providence Equity originally proposed the deal in a letter to Sprint’s board on November 10, but the board wouldn’t grant either a meeting before declining the offer, according to the Journal.
The rejection to the deal comes at a time in which the company is still seeking a successor to former CEO Gary Forsee. Previously, Donahue was CEO of Nextel Communications and negotiated the merger with Sprint in 2004. He became the combined company’s chairman after the deal closed in 2005, but stepped down last year.
While Donahue was ready to return to the company, reports the Journal, the board remained strongly resistant to bringing him back, as they, along with some long-time investors, blame Donahue and the Nextel management team for poor performance since the merger took place.