Dixons Carphone unit in deal with Sprint Corp to open U.S. stores

LONDON, July 2 (Reuters) - British electrical goods and mobile phone retailer Dixons Carphone (LSE: DC.L - news) said its Connected World Services (CWS) division has signed a deal with Sprint Corp., the U.S. mobile network operator, to open and manage Sprint-branded stores in the U.S..

Dixons Carphone, formed last year from the merger of Dixons Retail and Carphone Warehouse, said the first phase of the deal will see CWS supply mobile phone retail expertise and proprietary knowledge to Sprint who will open about 20 retail stores.

If these stores prove successful, the deal would progress to a second phase which would involve CWS investing equally with Sprint in a joint venture to roll out up to 500 stores.

That second phase would see Dixons Carphone invest up to $32 million to obtain a 50 percent interest in the new venture.

"This...is a significant step in growing our CWS business in the U.S.," said Andrew Harrison, Dixons Carphone deputy group CEO.

Shares (Berlin: DI6.BE - news) in Dixons Carphone, up a quarter over the last nine months, closed Wednesday at 459 pence, valuing the business at 5.3 billion pounds ($8.3 billion). ($1 = 0.6407 pounds) (Reporting by James Davey; editing by Sarah Young)