clearwire22Clearwire has agreed to take an $80 million payment from Sprint Nextel in April, possibly pushing the Bellevue-based company closer into the hands of its majority shareholder. The decision follows an $80 million payment that Clearwire accepted last month from the carrier, which is attempting to buy out the remaining shares of Clearwire that it doesn’t already own.

Both Sprint and Dish Network are looking to buy Clearwire, the wireless broadband operator that’s most coveted for its spectrum holdings. Clearwire said today in a statement that it continues to evaluate both offers.

“Consistent with its fiduciary duties to Clearwire’s non-Sprint class A stockholders, the Special Committee of Clearwire’s board of directors has engaged in discussions with DISH concerning its proposal and with Sprint over the course of the last three months, and the Special Committee intends to continue such discussions.  The Special Committee will pursue the course of action that it believes is in the best interests of Clearwire’s non-Sprint Class A stockholders.”

Dish has said that it would withdraw its offer if Clearwire tapped into a financing package from Sprint which totals some $800 million. Earlier this year, Clearwire elected to bypass the financing from Sprint as it weighed the two offers.

Sprint is offering to buy the rest of Clearwire for $2.97 per share, while Dish is offering $3.30 per share.

Some investors have argued that Sprint’s bid is too low. Crest Financial, which owns eight percent of Clearwire, commissioned a study that was released last month indicating that Sprint’s offer undervalues Clearwire’s spectrum by about two to three times.

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