CenturyTel plans to acquire Embarq Corp.

By Stephanie Tavares

Monday, Oct. 27, 2008 | 11:24 a.m.

Embarq Corp. announced today the expectations of being acquired by telecommunications company CenturyTel in a tax free, stock-for-stock transaction.

Embarq is the largest land-line phone provider in Southern Nevada. It was created two years ago after splitting from parent company Sprint Nextel.

Under the terms of the agreement, Embarq shareholders will receive 1.37 CenturyTel shares for each share of Embarq common stock.

Embarq shareholders are expected to own approximately 66 percent of the company after the acquisition is complete and CenturyTel shareholders are expected to own approximately 34 percent of the combined company.

The transaction will cost about $11.6 billion, including the assumption of $5.8 billion of Embarq’s debt.