McGuireWoods lawyers advised longtime client Sprint in its acquisition of 1,435 retail stores from RadioShack, a deal that more than doubles Sprint’s company-owned retail footprint and expands its ability to reach customers from coast to coast.
As part of RadioShack’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing on Feb. 5, Sprint and General Wireless Inc. – a subsidiary of Standard General LP, RadioShack’s largest shareholder – agreed on terms to increase Sprint’s branded store distribution. After a three-day competitive auction and a four-day contested sale hearing, a Delaware bankruptcy court approved the transaction on April 1, and the McGuireWoods team closed the deal within hours that same day.
A McGuireWoods team from its Baltimore, Washington, D.C., Dallas, Richmond and Tysons Corner, Virginia, offices represented Sprint in the transaction. Partners David Swan in Tysons Corner and James Van Horn in Baltimore, both members of McGuireWoods’ Restructuring and Insolvency Department, led a multidisciplinary team that also included lawyers from the firm’s corporate and real estate practices.
Sprint agreed to be co-tenants in 1,435 existing RadioShack stores, with Sprint being the primary brand on storefronts and in marketing materials. Sprint will occupy roughly one-third of the retail space at those locations. The Sprint-RadioShack stores opened for the first time Friday, April 10. Sprint had more than 1,100 company-owned retail stores prior to the transaction.
“We had great teamwork from lawyers across multiple practices, and we’re proud that we could close this deal for a valued client,” Swan said. “This is a very important acquisition that will enable Sprint to grow its business and better serve its customers across the country.”
Sprint (NYSE: S) is a communications services company that served nearly 56 million connections as of Dec. 31, 2014, and is widely recognized for developing, engineering and deploying innovative technologies, including the first wireless 4G service from a national carrier in the United States; leading no-contract brands including Virgin Mobile USA, Boost Mobile, and Assurance Wireless; instant national and international push-to-talk capabilities; and a global Tier 1 Internet backbone.