The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has approved the nearly $5 billion CenturyTel Inc. (CTL) buyout of Embarq Corp. (EQ), its larger rival.
The merger passed the FTC’s antitrust scrutiny and now continues through the line of approval-granting bodies, including the Justice Department and the FCC.
CenturyTel is buying Embarq in an all-stock deal. Combined, the LECs will boast 7.9 million fixed-line customers and approximately 2 million high-speed Internet subscribers across 33 states. CenturyTel is offering 1.37 of its shares for each Embarq share; it also will take on $5.8 billion of Embarq’s debt.
