=Level 3 Communications (LVLT) to be acquired by CenturyLink (CTL) for $66.50/share

    

• The deal will give the business-telecommunications companies greater heft in a brutally competitive industry.
• Level 3, based in Broomfield, Colo., has a market value of $16.8 billion. CenturyLink, based in Monroe, La., is worth $15.2 billion.

CenturyLink Inc. of Louisiana is buying Level 3 Communications Inc. of Colorado in a cash-and-stock deal valued at $34 billion. The boards of the companies unanimously back the merger, the announcement said.

• Under terms of the agreement, Level 3 shareholders will receive $26.50 per share in cash and a fixed exchange ratio of 1.4286 shares of CenturyLink stock for each Level 3 share they own, which implies a purchase price of $66.50 per Level 3 share (based on a CenturyLink $28.00 per share reference price) and a premium of approximately 42 percent based on Level 3's unaffected closing share price of $46.92 on October 26, 2016, the last trading day prior to market speculation about a potential transaction.
• The combined company will be headquartered in Monroe, Louisiana and will maintain a significant presence in Colorado and the Denver metropolitan area.