Bloomberg ranks Sprint-Nextel merger among the least successful in recent history

Sprint management has probably been feeling pretty good after reporting a net gain in subscribers for the first quarter in three years, but a recent Bloomberg report will undoubtedly put something of a damper on the company’s celebrations. The report, a look at the 100 largest mergers and acquisitions between 2005 and 2008, found Sprint’s merger with Nextel to be the third least successful.

At the time of the merger in 2005, Sprint paid a whopping $36 billion for Nextel. Now, just five years later, Sprint Nextel is valued at only $30 billion. In fairness, Big Yellow does seem to be on the up-turn. Customer Service ratings have improved dramatically, the subscriber base is growing again, and the company’s WiMAX network continues to expand.

So, this may be a bit of a downer for Sprint – but it’s not exactly new information for the company’s management or stockholders. Rather, it should serve as a reminder of the company’s past mistakes and a motivator toward the future. Hopefully, a future where Sprint will provide 1Gbps download speeds and continue to offer unlimited data plans.

source: Bloomberg via FierceWireless