CenturyLink delays Level 3 acquisition
EIS contract winners CenturyLink and Level 3 pushed their acquisition plans back a month for a California utilities commission approval, but don't expect it to affect planning.
EDITOR's NOTE: This article first appeared on FCW.com.
To accommodate an upcoming California Public Utilities Commission meeting, CenturyLink will delay the close of its acquisition of Level 3 Communications until mid-October.
The two companies were among the 10 prime contractors named by the General Services Administration in August for its $50 next-generation telecommunications contract. AT&T, BT Federal, Core Technologies, Granite Telecommunications, Harris Corp., Manhattan Telecommunications (MetTel), MicroTech and Verizon were the others.
"We view the slight delay in our projected closing date as manageable, and it does not affect our integration planning process," CenturyLink CEO Glen Post said in a Sept. 12 announcement. "Both teams are ready to begin the integration process as soon as closing occurs."
The company said its decision to push the closing date was because of a Sept. 8 ruling by a California administrative law judge. Although the judge found the transaction to be in the public interest, the company said the judge recommended the deal be reviewed by the California Public Utilities Commission at its Oct. 12 meeting for approval.
CenturyLink said it now anticipates the Level 3 transaction to close in mid-to-late October 2017.
A CenturyLink spokeswoman told FCW the shift doesn't affect its EIS planning. "We are each still working on all the activities necessary to get to [authority to operate]."
Post said the acquisition has been cleared by 24 states and territories since it began the approval process last October when CenturyLink said it would buy Level 3 in a $34 billion cash-and-stock deal.