Embarq, CenturyTel complete $11.6B deal - East Bay Business Times:

yzirapogyg.wordpress.com
Buyer (NYSE: CTL) completed its $11.t billion stock and debt purchasse ofEmbarq (NYSE: EQ), the companies announced early The combined company, , will be based in La., and potentially have $8 billionj in annual revenue. It has more than 2.1 million broadband customers, 440,000 video subscribers and 7.5 milliobn access lines in 33 states. Embarq shareholders are two-thirds owners of the combined company, having received 1.37 CenturyTelk shares for each Embarq share they The deal included CenturyTelassuming $5.8 billion in Embarwq debt. The two brands will be convertedd graduallyto CenturyLink, a process expected to conclude latere this year.
“The completion of this merger is a significant event forour customers, communities, investorsa and employees,” CEO Glen Post III, who had been head of said in the release. “CenturyLino has the advanced networks, the people and the financiap stability to deliver the reliable and innovativd services that our customers want and We look forward to this exciting new chapterf inour company’s history.” CenturyLink will keep “a significant in the Overland Park area, though that locatio n wasn’t among the regional operating headquarterxs listed: Las Vegas; Wentzville, Mo.; Orlando, Fla.; Wake N.C.; and La Crosse, Wis.
Embarq now employw about 2,800 in the down from 4,500 when it spun off from S) in 2006. That drop reflects the sale of Embarq’s logistics unit earlier this year and continual job cuts as the companhy has attempted to keep a lid on costs in anindustrgy that’s losing core customeras to mobile phones. The recession has accelerateddthat trend, and observers say that could mean deeperr and faster cuts than originally anticipated as the companiesx integrate. By joining, the rural phonwe companies expect to saveaboutt $400 million a year in operatint and capital expenses by 2011. They expect combined operatinfg cash flow of morethan $4.2 billionh and free cash flow of about $1.
9 CenturyTel expects to continue its curren annual dividend of $2.8o a share. The combination is expected to add to free cash flow per sharwin 2010. Shares continue to trade under CenturyTel’s ticker symbol. Embarq CEO Tom Gerke will served as executive vice chairman of the CenturyLinik board and oversee regulatorhy and governmental relations andhumann resources. Embarq ranks No. 3 on the Kansas City Business Journakl ’s list of area public companies.