Jul. 12--MONROE, La. -- CenturyTel, Inc. (NYSE: CTL) and Embarq Corp. (NYSE: EQ) announced July 1 they have completed a merger.

The combined company, which will be known as CenturyLink, serves more than 2.1 million broadband customers, more than 440,000 video subscribers and approximately 7.5 million access lines in 33 states, including South Carolina and The T&D Region.

While the company's corporate identity will immediately change to CenturyLink, customer-facing operations and communications will continue under the CenturyTel and EMBARQ brand names until a full brand conversion occurs later this year.

The company intends to formally change its name to CenturyLink, Inc. upon receipt of shareholder approval, which it expects to solicit in May 2010.

In accordance with the terms of the merger agreement, EMBARQ stockholders received 1.37 CenturyTel shares for each share of EMBARQ common stock they owned at closing.

The company expects to continue its current annual dividend of $2.80 per share.

The company's stock continues to trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "CTL."

The corporate headquarters of the company will remain in Monroe, La.

CenturyLink is a provider of voice, broadband and video services over its advanced communications networks to consumers and businesses in 33 states.

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