Imagine Communications Group, a communications company a quarter owned by Ireland-based conglomerate NTR and Kilsaran Concrete, has acquired the local operations of Clearwire.
Clearwire, in which Intel Capital, the corporate venturing division of semiconductor maker Intel, invested $600m in 2006, will take a minority stake in Imagine and the right to nominate a board member.
Clearwire, a US-based mobile broadband service provider, has gained $1.3bn since 2003, more venture funding than any other company according to news provider Dow Jones VentureSource. Its other strategic investors include Comcast, Sprint, Google, Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks.