In another win for CenturyLink, the U.S. Department of Justice has given the greenlight to company’s pending $34 billion acquisition of Level 3 Communications, subject to divestitures of some metro network and dark fiber assets.
The conditions were outlined in an agreed upon consent decree, according to CenturyLink.
Per the consent decree, CenturyLink will spin off Level 3 metro network assets in the following areas: Albuquerque, N.M.; Boise, Idaho; and Tucson, Ariz. However, the combined company can still serve customers in these metros if they decide not to choose service from the buyer of the divested assets.
The combined company will also divest 24 strands of dark fiber that are not currently in use.
“We are pleased that the Department of Justice has conditionally cleared CenturyLink’s acquisition of Level 3. It is an important milestone in our overall approval process,” CenturyLink SVP for Public Policy and Government Relations John F. Jones comments in a statement. “We anticipate court approval of our agreed resolution with the Department of Justice as early as this week. We are focused on meeting our targeted transaction closing timeframe of mid-to-late October.”
The deal is still subject to approval from the FCC.
CenturyLink already won approval from 24 states, and is waiting to get the go-ahead from California.
In September, a California Administrative Law Judge filed a decision recognizing the transaction is in the public interest and recommended the California Public Utilities Commission approve the deal at an Oct. 12 meeting.
