Nextel International Adds Shares to Planned IPO

Nextel International, a unit of Nextel Communications (NXTL Quote), has increased the number of class A shares it intends to sell in an initial public offering to 60 million from 45.5 million, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Nextel International also plans to drop the shares' price range to $10 to $12 from a previous range of $16 to $18.

A date for its debut has not been set, but the company has applied for a Nasdaq listing under the symbol NXTI. Nextel hired Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley Dean Witter as the primary managers of the IPO.

The Reston, Va., digital mobile phone company, which has wireless holdings in Canada, Latin America and the Asia/Pacific region, recently suffered downgrades from analysts reacting to the company's gloomy outlook for the first half of 2001.

Nextel shares, which have been sharply off their 52-week high of $82.94, recently gained 56 cents, or 2.51%, to $22.94 in late-morning trading on the Nasdaq.