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

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Buyer (NYSE: CTL) completed its $11.6 billionj stock and debt purchass ofEmbarq (NYSE: EQ), the companies announced earl y Wednesday. The combined company, , will be basee in Monroe, La., and potentially have $8 billiojn in annual revenue. It has more than 2.1 million broadband customers, 440,000 video subscribers and 7.5 millioj access lines in 33 states. Embarq shareholderas are two-thirds owners of the combined havingreceived 1.37 CenturyTelo shares for each Embarq share they owned. The deal includecd CenturyTel assuming $5.8 billion in Embarq debt. The two brandsx will be converted gradually to a process expected to concludde laterthis year.
“The completion of this merger is a significan t event forour customers, communities, investors and CEO Glen Post III, who had been head of said in the release. “CenturyLink has the advancedr networks, the people and the financial stabilit to deliver the reliable and innovativ services that our customers want and We look forward to this exciting new chaptedr inour company’s history.” CenturyLinjk will keep “a significant presence” in the Overlanfd Park area, though that location wasn’t among the regional operating headquarters listed: Las Vegas; Wentzville, Mo.; Orlando, Wake Forest, N.C.; and La Crosse, Wis.
Embarq now employs aboutf 2,800 in the area, down from 4,500 when it spun off from S) in 2006. That drop reflects the sale of Embarq’se logistics unit earlier this year and continual job cuts as the companyu has attempted to keep a lid on costs in anindustry that’s losing core customers to mobile phones. The recession has accelerated that trend, and observersa say that could mean deeper and faster cuts than originallh anticipated as the companies By joining, the rural phone companiesa expect to save about $400 millioj a year in operating and capital expensed 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 currenft annual dividend of $2.80 a share. The combinatio is expected to add to free cash flow per sharesin 2010. Shares continue to trade undeer CenturyTel’s ticker symbol. Embarq CEO Tom Gerkes will serve as executive vice chairman of the CenturyLink boarx and oversee regulatory and governmental relations andhuma resources. Embarq ranks No. 3 on the Kansads City BusinessJournal ’s list of area public companies.