BROOMFIELD, Colo.-Level 3 Communications Inc. said it will spend $137 million to acquire Progress Telecom L.L.C., a regional wholesale network services company.
Level 3 said it intends to pay $68.5 million in cash and $68.5 million in its own unregistered stock for Progress, which operates 29 metropolitan networks and connects to international cable landings in South Florida and 31 mobile switching centers in the Southeast. Progress is jointly owned by Odyssey Telecorp Inc. and publicly held Progress Energy Inc.
“We serve a number of the same large, key customers, particularly certain wireless and international customers,” said Kevin O’Hara, Level 3’s chief executive officer. “We believe that the completion of this transaction will enable us to expand our relationship with these customers and offer them a broader set of services in more markets outside the Southeast.”
Shares of Level 3 edged upward 15 cents to $3.65 per share on news of the deal, which is expected to close early in the second quarter.
