Windstream should blow into town July 17
digg it!
Facebook
del.icio.us
Seed Newsvine
Fark It
Reddit
By RICHARD PIERSOL/Lincoln Journal Star
Windstream Communications, the new phone company for this part of Nebraska, will arrive on July 17, if all goes as planned.
Events are on schedule for that to be the date of closing on the merger of Valor Communications Group of Texas and Alltel’s wireline division, the incumbent telephone company for Lincoln and Southeast Nebraska. The new company will also take on Alltel’s Internet services.
Valor’s stockholders are voting and will meet Tuesday in New York to finish their part of the deal, which now has been approved by all necessary state and federal regulators, said Keith Paglusch, chief operating officer of Windstream, which will be based in Little Rock, Ark.
Results will be announced either that day or Wednesday.
There’s no reason to believe the shareholders won’t approve the merger, said Paglusch, who was in Lincoln on Thursday to talk to employees of Alltel who will become Windstream employees.
Windstream will be operating in 16 states from New York to New Mexico.
Alltel will continue to operate as a separate, wireless-only company. Alltel shareholders don’t have to approve that because it isn’t issuing new securities, as Valor is.
After administrative paperwork and meetings with bankers and investors is done, the deal should close July 17.
Customers should have received a letter in the last month signed by the chief executives of both Windstream and Alltel informing them of the change.
From July to September, customers will receive a bill with both brands, Alltel and Windstream, making the change clear, said Paglusch.
Also in mid-July, the local Alltel buildings and vehicles will start bearing the new company’s name and its green and white colors.
Advertising will appear in newspapers and in other news media to publicize the change.
Assuming approval, about 10,000 Alltel shareholders in Nebraska will receive notification of their compensation for the deal: one share of Windstream stock for every share of Alltel they own. It won’t be an exchange. They’ll have stock in both companies, one share of Windstream for each share of Alltel held.
On July 18, Windstream stock will start trading on the New York Stock Exchange, under the symbol WIN.
No paper stock certificates will be mailed, Paglusch said.
“Most people’s stock is done electronically now,” he said. So a brokerage account is the most likely place to look for the new stock.
Alltel and Valor announced the $9.1 billion deal in December.
“We’re very excited about this,” said Paglusch. “Everything is on schedule, targeted for closing July 17.”
Reach Richard Piersol at 473-7241 or at dpiersol@journalstar.com
On the Web: http://www.windstreamcomm.com/
Post Your Comment
Standards and RulesYour posted comment will appear after it has been approved.
Frequently asked questions about story commenting.