Sprint today announced a plan to acquire one of its affiliates, US Unwired. The deal is valued at $1.3 billion and is expected to close in the third quarter of 2005. The buyout will help close Sprint’s merger with Nextel because US Unwired will drop a lawsuit pertaining to the merger:

As part of the agreement, Sprint and US Unwired will seek an immediate stay of litigation pending in U.S. District Court in Lake Charles, La., including US Unwired’s request for an injunction to block the merger of Sprint and Nextel Communications, with a final resolution to become effective upon the closing of the acquisition.

US Unwired sells Sprint branded wireless service in rural areas and has over a half-million subscribers.