Subject: [NEXTEL-1] McCaw Hedges Nextel Stake, Sets Up 7.8 Mln-Share Sale-

From: Marcel <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 05 Dec 2002 13:26:48 -0500

Craig's Ship is sinking quickly- It won't be long before he has a garage sale. He has some
pretty cool toys, I might need to stop by.
http://quote.bloomberg.com/fgcgi.cgi?T=marketsquote99_relnews.ht&s=APe_RdxSBTWNDYXcg

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12/05 12:48
McCaw Hedges Nextel Stake, Sets Up 7.8 Mln-Share Sale (Update1)
By Tom Giles

Washington, Dec. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Billionaire Craig McCaw
arranged to sell 7.8 million shares of Nextel Communications Inc.
in transactions that may protect him against further losses after
the stock declined 88 percent, regulatory filings show.

Digital Radio LLC, which holds Nextel investments for McCaw,
on six occasions in October and November set up forward sales
agreements, which typically allow the holder to sell a security at
or below its current price on a future date, according to U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission filings.

Including the transactions, Nextel director McCaw has hedged
about 46 percent of his 66 million shares, filings show. The moves
are ``risk protection'' amid economic ``uncertainty,'' according
to Brian Marcinek, a spokesman for McCaw's Eagle River Investments
LLC. Some investors and analysts said McCaw, who built his fortune
developing cellular phone technology, may be losing confidence in
the company.

``Management stepping away from commitment to the company is
always cause for concern,'' said Don Nesbitt, director of equity
investments at North Track Funds, which oversees about $1 billion
and held 131,105 Nextel shares at the end of September.

Share Moves

The shares of Reston, Virginia-based Nextel fell 12 cents to
$12.89 at 12:46 p.m. in Nasdaq Stock Market trading. Since reaching
a March 2000 high of $82.94, the shares declined 88 percent through
Oct. 29, the day before the first round of forward sales was
arranged.

There's been little reason to hedge against Nextel share
declines in recent weeks, with the shares gaining 29 percent since
Oct. 29.

Calls to Eagle River Investments, which manages McCaw's
telecommunications investments, were referred to Marcinek. He and
Nextel spokeswoman Audrey Schaefer said McCaw isn't losing faith
in Nextel, the fifth-largest U.S. mobile-phone company. McCaw
controls three of the company's 12 board seats, Schaefer said.

``He continues to be very involved in the business and
bullish on its prospects,'' Marcinek said.

McCaw's Digital Radio received ``a notional amount of cash''
when it agreed to the contracts, according to the filings. The
contracts expire April 30, 2004, the filings said.

Sales May Grow

At a time when U.S. mobile-phone subscriber growth is slowing
and prices for calls are falling, Nextel may boost sales faster
than peers because it sells phones with a walkie-talkie feature
that rivals haven't matched, analysts said.

Nextel shares have risen 19 percent this year through
yesterday, while those of rivals AT&T Wireless Services Inc. and
Sprint Corp.'s PCS unit have declined 49 percent and 77 percent
respectively.

``The hedging activity doesn't reflect negatively on Nextel's
prospects,'' said Ned Zachar, an analyst at Thomas Weisel
Partners, who rates Nextel a ``buy.'' ``Nextel still sells the
only differentiated product.''

McCaw is sponsoring an entry to the America's Cup yachting
competition. Qualifying races for sailing's most prestigious event
are now being held in New Zealand.

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