Sprint Falls as Holders Sell Shares

Sprint (NYSE: FON) was down US$2 at $20.60 in early trading Wednesday after Deutsche Telekom and France Telekom said they would sell their shares in the company.

The Kansas City, Missouri-based telecom company filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for the sale in a public offering of 152.03 million common shares. Deutsche Telekom and France Telecom will sell all the shares, and Sprint will not receive any of the proceeds.

France Telecom said it is selling its 75.9 million Sprint shares as part of a plan to "dispose of non-strategic assets" and cut debt, adding that it expects to complete the sale in the current quarter. The French company said its shares are worth about $2 billion.

Sprint recently reported revenue for the fourth quarter ended December 31st of $4.39 billion, down from $4.42 billion in the year-earlier quarter. Operating income fell to $598 million from $731 million.

By contrast, the company's PCS division (NYSE: PCS) said revenue rose 84 percent from a year earlier to $1.94 billion.

According to Sprint PCS, its network now covers almost 80 percent of the United States and its products and services are sold in more than 13,500 locations.

PCS is further extending its wireless reach through an agreement with America Online that brings AOL's Instant Messenger service to Sprint PCS Internet-ready phones. The phones also come with free e-mail and other services.

Sprint has also said it was shifting its focus away from traditional long-distance telephone calls and toward the higher-growth areas of wireless, data and local broadband services.