Byline: Jeff Smith, Rocky Mountain News
Level 3 Communications is buying communications network rival WilTel Communications Group for about $685 million in cash and stock, a move that could strengthen debt-strapped Level 3's prospects.
"It's a good day for Level 3 and its investors," said James Crowe, chief executive officer of the Broomfield communications network wholesaler.
Level 3 has been eyeing Tulsa, Okla.-based WilTel, formerly Williams Communications Group, since 1999, with merger speculation last reaching a fever pitch in the spring of 2003.
"We are combining what we think are the two premier providers" of fiber-optic wholesale communications services, Crowe said.
The deal also could eventually mean a couple of hundred additional employees relocating from Oklahoma to Colorado, an analyst said.
The merger comes as Level 3 continues to lose money at a rapid rate - $204 million in the third quarter alone, which helped send stockholders' equity to negative $444 million. …
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