07/14/2010 (6:57 pm)
Qwest calls shareholder meeting to OK CenturyLink deal; announces tender offer
Qwest Communications International Inc. has set Aug. 24 as the date for its special meeting of shareholders to vote on its proposed takeover by CenturyLink Inc.
Separately, the Denver-based telecom (NYSE: Q) Tuesday announced a tender offer to purchase up to $1.265 billion of its outstanding 3.50-percent convertible senior notes due 2025.
The shareholder meeting will be held at the Denver Marriott City Center starting at 10 a.m. MDT. Shareholders as of Tuesday will be eligible to vote on whether to accept the acquisition offer by Monroe, La.-based CenturyLink (NASDAQ: CTL).
The meeting will be audio webcast live at http://investor.qwest.com/presentations and will be available for replay afterward, Qwest said.
CenturyLink — formerly known as CenturyTel — announced plans April 22 to buy Qwest in a deal involving a $10.6 billion stock swap and about $12 million in debt acquisition.
The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2011, subject to shareholder and regulatory approval.
If completed, the merger will create a telecom serving 37 states with about 5 million broadband customers and 17 million phone lines paydayloans. Qwest alone operates in Colorado and 13 other states; CenturyLink has a 33-state territory.
Qwest's headquarters is expected to move out of Denver, but CenturyLink "will maintain a key operational presence in Denver, including a regional headquarters," the company said in April.
In Tuesday's tender-offer announcement, Qwest said it will pay a premium for each $1,000 of its 3.50-percent notes tendered based on the volume weighted average price of its stock over a 20-trading-day period starting July 14 times 206.3354, plus $30.
Qwest said it will set the precise purchase price after the close of stock-market trading on Aug. 10.
The tender offer is set to expire at 3 p.m. MDT on Aug. 12.
Copies of tender-offer documents are available from Global Bondholder Services Corp. at 866-540-1500.
Goldman, Sachs & Co. (800-828-3182) is acting as the dealer manager for the tender offer.
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