CenturyLink acquisition of Level 3 receives approval from Federal Communications Commission

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has approved CenturyLink, Inc.’s pending acquisition of Level 3 Communications, Inc. The FCC’s approval follows prior approvals from the U.S. Department of Justice and the California Public Utilities Commission. With this final approval, Monroe, LA-based CenturyLink has obtained the last regulatory clearance required to close the acquisition, pending other customary closing conditions.

“The FCC’s approval of CenturyLink’s acquisition of Level 3 is great news and means we now have all the regulatory approvals we need to close the transaction,” said CenturyLink Senior Vice President for Public Policy and Government Relations John Jones. “We anticipate closing the transaction effective November 1, 2017.”

On Oct. 4, 2017, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia adopted an asset preservation stipulation and order among the parties as part of the consent decree with the U.S. Department of Justice.

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) approved the acquisition at a meeting on Oct. 12, 2017. California was the final state regulatory approval required.

In addition to California, the states of Alaska, Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Utah, Virginia, Washington and West Virginia, and the District of Columbia approved the acquisition. The transaction has also received regulatory clearance from Connecticut, Indiana, Louisiana, Montana, Nevada, Texas and Puerto Rico.

The combined company will offer customers a broader and more complementary range of services and solutions and enable the advanced technology and growing bandwidth needs of its business, government and consumer customers.

Source: CenturyLink