document: Line goes dead for Qwest as CenturyLink completes acquisition CenturyLink completed its acquisition of Denver-based Qwest on Friday , a $ 24 billion merger that uproots a historic Colorado icon but places the business in the hands of a respected , traditional telephone operator . The deal creates an industry giant that employs 47,500 and serves 15 million phone and 5 million broadband subscribers in 37 states . It comes just more than a decade after the Joe Nacchio-led Qwest , then a fast-growing Internet network operator , acquired U S West and its 14-state local phone business for $ 45 billion . '' `` It was the end of an era when Qwest took over from U S West because Qwest was not a real telephone company . They were sort of a young , long-distance company , '' '' said telecommunications historian Herbert Hackenburg . '' `` This goes in the opposite direction . This merger brings them back to a telephone company that has a pretty good record . '' '' Incorporated in 1968 , Monroe , La.-based CenturyLink is a rural phone operator at its core . The company , formerly CenturyTel , exploded in size and ventured into urban markets with the purchase of Kansas-based Embarq in July 2009 . Announced a year ago , the Qwest merger turns CenturyLink into the nation 's No. 3 local phone company , behind AT&T and Verizon . CenturyLink paid about $ 12 billion in stock and assumed nearly $ 12 billion in Qwest debt . CenturyLink stock dropped 1 percent Friday to close at $ 41.03 . Qwest stock ceased trading Thursday . Consumer bills and Qwest signs will switch to the CenturyLink brand over the next several months . Monroe will serve as the corporate headquarters . CenturyLink 's acquisition binge comes as the nation 's landline phone business is eroding . Millions of consumers dump wireline phone service annually , relying solely on cellphones or switching to Internet-based voice offerings from cable-TV companies . CenturyLink is banking that broadband and television service provided over an Internet network will help the company stem landline losses and even grow revenue . It also says synergies from the merger will save $ 625 million in annual operating and investment costs . The company is done purchasing phone lines for now , said chief executive Glen Post . '' `` We do n't feel like we need to go out and look for additional wireline acquisitions at this point , '' '' Post said recently . '' `` We would like to expand in areas where we see ready growth potential in the months ahead . '' '' Four Qwest board members -- CEO Ed Mueller , Charles Biggs , Michael Roberts and James Unruh -- will join the Century Link board . Denver will serve as one of CenturyLink 's six regional headquarters and will be home to the company 's enterprise-business division . The combined company employs about 7,500 in the state . But Qwest 's corporate functions , such as accounting and human resources , are expected to face the brunt of merger-related job cuts . Layoff notifications have already started in Denver . '' `` Personnel decisions will continue to be made in a cascading process , '' '' a spokeswoman said Friday . Qwest 's Colorado roots span more than a century . The state 's first telephone exchange opened in 1879 . U S West was spawned from the antitrust breakup of the old AT&T monopoly , or Ma Bell , in 1984 . When Qwest acquired U S West in June 2000 , the company quickly moved to switch out the high-profile U S West signs atop its 52-story headquarters building in downtown Denver with the Qwest name . Those signs will be taken down , with the naming rights expiring in June 2012 and Qwest 's workforce in the building dwindling by more than half over the past year . Qwest and its predecessor companies have occupied the skyscraper at 1801 California St. since 1982 . '' `` It 's an astounding loss for Denver . Back in the Mountain Bell days , when Mountain Bell was a part of AT&T , every single major division of AT&T was located in Denver , '' '' said Hackenburg , founder of the Denver-based Telecommunications History Group . '' `` Slowly , all of those different things have disappeared . '' '' Andy Vuong : 303-954-1209 , avuong@denverpost.com or twitter.com/andyvuong Linking up with naming rights CenturyLink assumes these naming-rights deals from Qwest : • Qwest headquarters at 1801 California St. in Denver -- naming rights included in lease agreement , which expires in June 2012 . • Qwest Field -LRB- Seattle Seahawks ' stadium -RRB- -- reportedly $ 75 million for 15 years -LRB- 10 years with five-year renewal option -RRB- , signed in 2004 . • Qwest Center Omaha -LRB- convention center in Omaha -RRB- -- reportedly $ 14 million for 15 years , signed in 2003 . • Qwest Arena -LRB- hockey , basketball , multipurpose arena in Boise , Idaho -RRB- -- reportedly multiple years remaining , although terms are unavailable . Source : Denver Post research States ' standing , in lines After buying Qwest Communications International Inc. , Century Link Inc. provides landline phone service in 37 states , arranged here by number of lines : Colorado -- 1,542,000
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