Sprint today settled a class-action lawsuit regarding its 2005 acquisition of Nextel for $131 million. Investors claim Sprint executives defrauded shareholders by inflating stock and bond prices after Sprint closed its acquisition of Nextel. The merger was troubled from the start, as Sprint struggled to integrate the two companies and lost hundreds of thousands of Nextel subscribers. At the same time, executives claimed the company was receiving billions of dollars in benefits and improving its subscriber base. Sprint was eventually forced to write down $29.7 billion in lost value. The company did not admit to any wrongdoing, but agreed to pay out $131 million. The settlement still needs to be approved by the court.


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