Qwest Communications International Inc. (NYSE:Q), with a debt load of about $13 billion, was looking for about $2 billion to $3 billion for its long-distance network, but apparently bidders weren't offering enough. The Wall Street Journal said some offers were less than $1 billion. That could be due to a difficulty in obtaining financing or that potential buyers were trying to acquire on the cheap.
Denver-based Qwest said in a statement that
after a strategic review -- which it began after receiving unsolicited offers for the long-distance unit -- it believed the asset holds more long-term value to shareholders than a sale would have offered. The Journal said Level 3 Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:LVLT), XO Holdings Inc.'s XO Communications and TW Telecom Inc. (NASDAQ:TWTC)
were among the bidders.
Qwest also reaffirmed its guidance for 2009, expecting adjusted free cash flow to be about $1.4 billion to $1.5 billion. The company is also still recovering from
financial scandals that sent its former chairman and CEO Joe Nacchio to prison.
Along with other assets, Qwest also provides some valuable service orders for Networx Universal, a $20 billion federal communications program. Qwest shares were down in morning trading by about 2.4% to $4.07 -- off a 52-week high of $4.87. Qwest shares have traded as high as $64 in 2000 and as low $10 in May 2007. -
Baz HiralalSee the Qwest announcementSee the previous WSJ story
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