Sprint Nextel is getting closer to selling its Nextel division, according to a Wall Street Journal report. Bidders include NII Holdings, Cerberus Capital Management and other investment companies, the newspaper said.

Sprint paid $35 billion for Nextel in 2005. At the time, Nextel was a hot company known for its ubiquitous walkie-talkie phones. But the push-to-talk business changed and Sprint eventually took a massive write-off.

Meanwhile, the nation’s third-largest wireless carrier continues posting mixed fiscal results and is focusing its research and development on WiMAX and the Clearwire partnership.