Intel to Take $950M Hit for Clearwire Investment

Intel Corp. (INTC) will take a one-time $950 million hit for its investment in Clearwire Corp.'s (CLWR) WiMAX venture.

The chipmaker pumped $1.6 billion into the 4G effort and said in an interview with Unstrung it must write down the investment because Clearwire’s stock has fallen below $5 per share. Still, Intel said, the company believes in WiMAX and will keep pursuing its advancement.

The timing is not good for Intel – it’s already announced its fourth-quarter 2008 earnings will [fall short of expectations, and the writedown only adds to the bad news.

Clearwire boasts several investors in its WiMAX venture but Intel is its largest.