CenturyLink-Qwest merger gets the Oregon PUC's approval

With the Oregon Public Utility Commission's (PUC) approval in hand, CenturyLink (NYSE: CTL) and Qwest (NYSE: Q) can now move ahead to complete the deal by the April 1 deadline and begin the company integration process.

Following the FCC's approval of the deal last week, the Oregon PUC was the final approval the two service providers needed to complete the merger.

Upon completion of the merger, the combined company will serve about 800,000 traditional access lines in Oregon. Oregon regulators have mandated that the combined company will invest at least $45 million to expand the state's broadband network infrastructure over five years.

When the two providers combine operations, they will leverage the name CenturyLink and its stock will continue to trade on the New York Stock Exchange under CenturyLink's current symbol, CTL. At the end of the business day before the closing date, Qwest's outstanding shares will be converted to CenturyLink shares at an exchange rate of 0.1664 share of CenturyLink for each share of Qwest.

For more:
- see the release

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