US WiMAX service provider Clearwire announced plans to raise more than US$1.1 billion by offering debt securities in private placement transactions, stating that it intends to use the funds "for working capital and for general corporate purposes, including capital expenditures" – Clearwire's financial position has been widely discussed. The company also announced the appointment of three directors to its board, following the earlier departure of a trio of Sprint executives : the new appointees are William Blessing, a consultant to Burns & McDonnell who also has 15 years of experience with Sprint; Mufit Cinali, who is MD of Springwell Capital Partners and has worked with Hughes Electronics and AT&T; and Hossein Eslambolchi, a technical adviser to Ericsson and the University of California, who has also held a number of roles with AT&T.