The combination made CenturyLink the third-largest landline telecommunications provider in the United States, trailing only AT&T and Verizon.
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The merger combined networks to serve customers in 37 states via a 190,000 route-mile fiber network.
It was a tax-free, stock-for-stock exchange. Qwest shareholders received 0.1664 shares of CenturyLink stock for every share of Qwest they owned.
Following the merger, the Qwest brand was eventually retired and replaced by CenturyLink. The Move to Lumen Technologies CenturyLink and Qwest Complete Merger - PR Newswire