Sprint has announced plans to acquire the remaining 50 percent stake of Clearwire that it doesn’t already own. According to the press release, Sprint is seeking 100 percent ownership of Clearwire for $2.97 per share, at which point it will be positioned to leverage Clearwire’s 2.5 GHz spectrum assets.

“The transaction, worth $2.2 billion, is $100 million higher than the original offer House Hesse had made, once rumors of the deal had pushed Clearwire’s share price up,” reports Engadget. The deal is contingent upon legal issues involving approval of the Sprint-Softbank merger, although “the Japanese company has already given its blessing to the deal.”

“As part of the deal, Sprint will take on Clearwire’s $5.5 billion in debt and licensing obligations, as well as coughing up a further $800 million in investment for the constantly-ailing network provider,” explains the post.

Upon regulatory approval, the deal is expected to be finalized in 2013.