CenturyLink is set to acquire Level 3 Communications, Inc. in a cash and stock transaction valued at approximately $34 billion.
CenturyLink shareholders will own approximately 51 percent and Level 3 shareholders will own approximately 49 percent of the combined company.
Glen Post will be the chief executive officer and president of the combined company that will be headquartered in Monroe, Louisiana and will maintain a significant presence in Colorado and the Denver metropolitan area.
The combined company, which will have presence in more than 60 countries, will invest in order to expand reach and speeds of its broadband infrastructure for small businesses and consumers.
This transaction increases CenturyLink’s network by 200,000 route miles of fiber, which includes 64,000 route miles in 350 metropolitan areas and 33,000 subsea route miles connecting multiple continents.
CenturyLink’s on-net buildings are expected to increase by nearly 75 percent to approximately 75,000, including 10,000 buildings in EMEA and Latin America.
The domestic and international networks will provide cost efficiency by focusing capital investment on increasing capacity and extending the reach of the combined company’s high-bandwidth fiber network.
The combined company will have improved network capabilities with approximately $19 billion in pro forma business revenue and $13 billion in business strategic revenue, for the trailing twelve months ended June 30, 2016.
CenturyLink’s and Level 3’s revenue will be 76 percent derived from business customers, and 65 percent of the combined company’s core revenue will be from strategic services.
The combined company is expected to have improved adjusted EBITDA margins, revenue growth and pro forma net leverage of less than 3.7x, including run-rate synergies.
The combined company will benefit from Level 3’s nearly $10 billion of net operating losses (NOLs). These NOLs will reduce the combined company’s net cash tax expense over the next several years, positioning it to generate substantial free cash flow.
The scale of the combined company is expected to generate $975 million of annual run-rate cash synergies, primarily from the elimination of duplicate functions, systems consolidation, and increased operational and capital efficiency.
Level 3 Communications said its revenue was $2.033 billion for the third quarter 2016, compared to $2.062 billion.
