Exhibit 99.1
[SPRINT - TOGETHER WITH NEXTEL LOGO]
News Release
Sprint Nextel Corporation
2001 Edmund Halley Drive
Reston, Va. 20191
Media Contact:
Scott Stoffel, 913-794-3603
scott.e.stoffel@mail.sprint.com
Investor Relations Contact:
Kurt Fawkes, 913-794-1140
kurt.e.fawkes@mail.sprint.com
SPRINT NEXTEL DECLARES THIRD QUARTER DIVIDENDS
RESTON, Va. - August 15, 2005 - Sprint Nextel Corporation (NYSE: S) today
announced that its board of directors has declared third quarter dividends for
Sprint Nextel Common Stock. A dividend of 2.5 cents per share is payable Sept.
30, 2005, to shareholders of record at the close of business on Sept. 9, 2005.
The quarterly cash dividend was adjusted - Sprint previously paid 12.5 cents per
share to FON Common Stock shareholders on a quarterly basis - to reflect
Sprint's merger with Nextel Communications Inc., and was set at a level
consistent with the aggregate amount of dividends that Sprint Nextel's local
telecommunications business is expected to pay its shareholders following the
completion of its planned spin-off into a separate Fortune 400 company. Sprint
Nextel will continue to evaluate its dividend policy in the context of its
growth prospects and cash requirements.
In anticipation of the upcoming filings with various state regulators relating
to the spin-off, the Sprint Nextel board of directors has also announced plans
with respect to the expected initial capital structure for the local business at
the time of the spin-off, which is expected to be completed within nine to 12
months. The Sprint Nextel board expects that the local business will have
approximately $7.25 billion of debt when the spin-off is completed. The expected
annual cash dividend will be roughly $300 million. Sprint Nextel believes that
this proposed capital structure and dividend policy will result in the local
business having financial characteristics consistent with companies that have
been rated "investment grade" by major ratings agencies.
About Sprint Nextel
Sprint Nextel offers a comprehensive range of wireless and wireline
communications services to consumer, business and government customers. Sprint
Nextel is widely recognized for developing, engineering and deploying innovative
technologies, including two robust wireless networks offering industry leading
mobile data services; instant
national and international push-to-talk capabilities; and an award-winning and
global Tier 1 Internet backbone. For more information, visit www.sprint.com.
"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995
A number of the matters discussed in this document that are not historical or
current facts deal with potential future circumstances and developments, in
particular, information regarding the combined company, and the local
telecommunications business to be spun off, including the expected capital
structure and financial characteristics of the local telecommunications
business. The discussion of such matters is qualified by the inherent risks and
uncertainties surrounding future expectations generally, and also may materially
differ from actual future experience involving any one or more of such matters.
Such risks and uncertainties include: competitive conditions and market
acceptance of Sprint Nextel's products and services, economic conditions in
targeted markets, performance of our technologies, timely development and
delivery of new technologies, access to sufficient capital to meet financing
needs, actions by regulatory agencies, and the risks that have been described
from time to time in Sprint's and Nextel's respective reports filed with the
SEC, including each company's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended
December 31, 2004 as amended, and their respective quarterly reports on Form
10-Q filed in 2005. This document speaks only as of its date, and Sprint Nextel
disclaims any duty to update the information herein.