MONROE, La., Nov. 1 (UPI) — CenturyLink Inc. announced its purchase of Level 3 Communications Inc. Monday, a $34 billion cash-and-stock deal creating a more prominent business telecommunications service company.
Level 3 stockholders will be offered $66.50 per share, a 42 percent increase over the company’s value in trading last week.
Level 3 routes Internet traffic across the World Wide Web for Netflix and Google, among other companies, operations that could improve CenturyLink’s core offerings to businesses. CenturyLink, a major phone company, formed after CenturyTel bought Embarq Corp. in 2009 and Qwest Communications International in 2011. Both companies are dealing with growing competition from cable providers and other smaller rivals offering business Internet and phone connections for businesses. A union of the two companies would create a larger competitor in a crowded field.
Glen Post, the CEO of CenturyLink, will lead the combined company, while Level 3’s chief financial officer, Sunit Patel, will serve as top financial officer.
