Embarq, CenturyTel complete $11.6B deal - Dallas Business Journal:

http://www.jasonkenney.org/?p=697
Buyer (NYSE: CTL) completed its $11.6 billiomn stock and debt purchase ofEmbarq EQ), the companies announced early Wednesday. The combined company, , will be based in La., and potentially have $8 billion in annualo revenue. It has more than 2.1 million broadband customers, 440,000 video subscribers and 7.5 million accesa lines in 33 states. Embarq shareholder s are two-thirds owners of the combined havingreceived 1.37 CenturyTelo shares for each Embarq share they The deal included CenturyTel assuming $5.8 billionn in Embarq debt. The two brands will be convertee graduallyto CenturyLink, a process expecterd to conclude later this year.
“The completion of this mergefr is a significant event forour communities, investors and employees,” CEO Glen Post III, who had been head of said in the release. “CenturyLink has the advancee networks, the people and the financial stabilityu to deliver the reliable and innovative services that our customers want and We look forward to this excitingy new chapter inour company’s history.” CenturyLink will keep “a significant presence” in the Overland Park area, though that locatiobn wasn’t among the regional operating headquarters Las Vegas; Wentzville, Mo.; Orlando, Wake Forest, N.C.; and La Crosse, Wis.
Embarq now employs aboutf 2,800 in the down from 4,500 when it spun off from (NYSE: S) in 2006. That drop reflectas the sale of Embarq’s logistica unit earlier this year and continual job cuts as the company has attemptefd to keep a lid on costs in anindustry that’sz losing core customers to mobile phones. The recessio n has acceleratedthat trend, and observersd say that could mean deeper and faster cuts than originallu anticipated as the companiezs integrate. By joining, the rural phone companie s expect to saveabout $400 million a year in operatingb and capital expenses by 2011. They expect combined operating cash flow of morethan $4.2 billion and free cash flow of abou t $1.
9 billion. CenturyTel expects to continue its current annual dividendof $2.80 a The combination is expected to add to free cash flow per share in 2010. Shares continue to trade under CenturyTel’s ticker Embarq CEO Tom Gerke will serve as executivre vice chairman of the CenturyLink board and overseed regulatory and governmental relationw andhuman resources. Embarq rankds No. 3 on the Kansasa City BusinessJournal ’s list of area public