CenturyLink-Level 3 Merger
CenturyLink and Level 3 Communications are trying to merge, and Utah and Ohio are the first states that have approved the merger. It is reported that the merger also received the regulatory clearance from the state of Nevada.
“The Ohio and Utah approvals for the CenturyLink – Level 3 merger indicate that following their review, these states understand that this merger is focused on the enterprise business market and will create more services and opportunities for the combined companies’ customers, employees and the communities we serve,” said John F. Jones, who is the Senior Vice President for Public Policy and Government Relations at CenturyLink.
“We continue to believe that policymakers, interested in advancing their states in an evolving internet economy, recognize that strong networks are key to our country’s future economic development, job creation and ability to stay connected,” Jones added.
The merger was announced on October 31, 2016, and the combined business aims to offer enterprise users a broad and complimentary range of solutions and services to position them well in the demanding world and meet the increasing bandwidth needs with advanced technology. The set of customers focused by CenturyLink and Level 3 includes small and large businesses, government entities, and large multinational enterprises.
In December 2016, CenturyLink started filing applications with the state and federal regulatory agencies for the approval of the merger. The merger is subject to receipt of the approvals from the different regulatory agencies, which includes review by the Federal Communications Commission, review by the Department of Justice, some state regulatory approvals, and certain other customary closing conditions.
CenturyLink is one of the popular internet providers, hosting, cloud, and IT services company in the US, that enables millions of users to transform their businesses and lives making use of innovative technology and solutions. The company offers data and network system managements, IT consulting, and big data analytics.
CenturyLink Plans
According to insider reports, CenturyLink operates more than fifty-five data centers in Europe, North America, and Asia, offering broadband, video, voice data, and managed IT services to over 250,000 route miles of fiber network and 300,000 route miles of international network.
The merger is also subject to the approval of the shareholders of CenturyLink and Level 3 Communications at special shareholders meeting that is scheduled for March 16, 2017. Both the companies anticipate to close the transaction by the third quarter of 2017.
