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A few months before Intel Capital unveiled its splashy, $600 million investment in Clearwire Corp., the venture arm of the world's biggest chipmaker made a similar, albeit much smaller, investment in another WiMax service provider, Pipex Wireless.
While Clearwire went on to a successful IPO in March, the fate of Pipex Wireless, the joint venture into which Intel Capital pumped $25 million, is less clear. Telecommunications service provider Pipex Communications UK Ltd., which contributed its licensed spectrum to the JV, announced it planned to spin off its portion of the Pipex Wireless business because it is no longer a "compelling strategic fit" following the $427 million sale of Pipex's consumer phone and broadband business to Tiscali SpA in July.
Pipex Communications also says it might also sell its remaining businesses, comprised of its Web hosting and business services divisions. The company said Oakley Capital Private Equity LP, of which Pipex chairman Peter Dubens is a limited partner, has expressed interest in a deal.
The WiMax venture plans to move ahead with its services, having tested the high-speed, wide-range broadband connectivity offering in several U.K. cities. It still plans to roll it out in Manchester before year's end.Intel Capital didn't have an immediate answer Tuesday as to what this news means to its investment in the JV. - Olaf de Senerpont Domis
See July 13 story from TheDeal.comSee March 8 story from TheDeal.com
See March 14 story from TheDeal.com
See April 2006 press release from Intel
