Only days after the DOJ and the FCC gave their regulatory blessing, Level 3 Communications (Nasdaq: LVLT) put the final nail in its acquisition of Global Crossing, a deal that was initially met with protest from regulators and competitors. The deal will instantly create a new communications powerhouse.
Now that the acquisition is complete, Level 3 will continue using its current name but create a new brand identity that it says leverages the elements of both service providers.
The combined service provider will have over 165,000 intercity, metro and subsea fiber route miles with presence in more than 45 countries. A key international piece for Level 3 in buying Global Crossing will be Latin America, a region seeing continued local and international growth from large multinational corporations (MNCs) establishing offices in the region.
In the near-term, Level 3 will transfer the listing of its common stock to the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), and expects to begin trading on the NYSE on Oct. 20, 2011, under its current ticker symbol "LVLT."
From an organizational standpoint, Level 3 plans to operate the company through three geographically organized business units in EMEA, Latin America and North America.
Each of these units will have one leader overseeing sales, sales, operations and marketing for their respective region. However, corporate functions will remain centralized in its North American headquarters in Broomfield, Colo.
The next question of course is what will the new company's management team look like? Right now, it appears that there will be a mix of both companies in key positions.
Some of the appointments from the Global Crossing side include: Dan Enright, regional president, North America Operations; Hector Alonso, now the head regional president of Latin American markets for Level 3; and Anthony Christie, chief marketing officer. What's not clear is if there will be layoffs to rid potential overlap as the integration process gets underway.
For more:
- see the release
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