On Wednesday, Crest Financial admitted it was backing Sprint Nextel Corp's acquisition of Clearwire Corp's stake. Crest Financial currently has possession of a large stake in Clearwire. Its statement ended a prolonged and rowdy competition for the wireless service provider.

Sprint increased its bid from just US$2.97 to US$5.0 per Clearwire share. This made Crest which holds 8% of Clearwire to vote for a merger with Sprint.

"We are proud of our campaign and stand by our analysis," Crest stated in a letter for Clearwire stockholders. "At the same time, with this favorable resolution, we withdraw any statements made in the heat of battle that may be construed as disparaging to Clearwire, Sprint, their directors and officers, or any other participants in this hard-fought contest."

The founder and chairman of Dish Network Corp, Charlie Ergen, proposed a counterbid for Clearwire. Dish was a satellite television provider. Its advantage was supposed to be its useful communication spectrum. However, Dish withdrew its offer after Sprint undermined its US$4.40 per share bid.