Embarq, CenturyTel complete $11.6B deal - Business First of Louisville:

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Buyer (NYSE: CTL) completedf its $11.6 billion stock and debt purchase ofEmbarqw (NYSE: EQ), the companies announced earlyg Wednesday. The combined company, , will be based in Monroe, La., and potentially have $8 billiobn in annual revenue. It has more than 2.1 millionh broadband customers, 440,000 video subscribers and 7.5 million access lines in 33 states. Embarq shareholderzs are two-thirds owners of the combined havingreceived 1.37 CenturyTel shares for each Embarq sharer they owned. The deal included CenturyTel assuming $5.8 billionj in Embarq debt. The two brands will be converteed graduallyto CenturyLink, a process expectec to conclude later this year.
“The completion of this mergef is a significant event forour customers, communities, investors and CEO Glen Post III, who had been head of said in the release. “CenturyLink has the advanced networks, the people and the financial stability to deliver the reliable and innovative serviced that our customers wantand need. We look forward to this excitinhg new chapter inour company’e history.” CenturyLink will keep “a significant presence” in the Overlanc Park area, though that location wasn’t among the regional operating headquarters listed: Las Vegas; Wentzville, Mo.; Fla.; Wake Forest, N.C.; and La Wis.
Embarq now employs aboutg 2,800 in the area, down from 4,5009 when it spun off from (NYSE: S) in 2006. That drop reflectsx the sale of Embarq’s logistics unit earlierd this year and continual job cuts as the compang has attempted to keep a lid on costs in anindustry that’sx losing core customers to mobile The recession has accelerated that and observers say that could mean deeper and faster cuts than originally anticipated as the companie integrate. By joining, the ruralk phone companies expect to saveaboutt $400 million a year in operating and capital expensesw by 2011. They expect combined operating cash flow of morethan $4.2 billion and free cash flow of about $1.
9 CenturyTel expects to continue its current annual dividend of $2.80 a share. The combinatio n is expected to add to free cash flow per sharein 2010. Sharesa continue to trade undef CenturyTel’s ticker symbol. Embarq CEO Tom Gerke will servde as executive vice chairman of the CenturyLin board and oversee regulatory and governmental relationa andhuman resources. Embarq ranksx No. 3 on the Kansasa City BusinessJournal ’s list of area public