NEW YORK, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Embarq Corp has agreed to settle a shareholder complaint that accused its directors of breaching fiduciary duties by failing to obtain the highest price for the company's acquisition by CenturyTel Inc, according to a filing on Friday.
Embarq said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that the parties, including CenturyTel, entered into a memorandum of understanding for a settlement and disclosed it received bids from companies identified as 'Company A' and 'Company C.'
The final price of the settlement was not clear and Embarq said it would be considered by a court. The plaintiff's counsel will seek an award of attorneys' fees and expenses of less than $1 million, it said.
CenturyTel announced last October that it would buy Embarq for $5.8 billion in stock in an effort to cut costs and stay competitive as traditional telephone lines decline. The deal valued Embarq at around 7.9 times projected 2009 earnings.
(Reporting by Ritsuko Ando; Editing by Andre Grenon) Keywords: EMBARQ/ (ritsuko.ando@thomsonreuters.com +1 646 223 6084; Reuters Messaging: ritsuko.ando.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
Embarq said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that the parties, including CenturyTel, entered into a memorandum of understanding for a settlement and disclosed it received bids from companies identified as 'Company A' and 'Company C.'
The final price of the settlement was not clear and Embarq said it would be considered by a court. The plaintiff's counsel will seek an award of attorneys' fees and expenses of less than $1 million, it said.
CenturyTel announced last October that it would buy Embarq for $5.8 billion in stock in an effort to cut costs and stay competitive as traditional telephone lines decline. The deal valued Embarq at around 7.9 times projected 2009 earnings.
(Reporting by Ritsuko Ando; Editing by Andre Grenon) Keywords: EMBARQ/ (ritsuko.ando@thomsonreuters.com +1 646 223 6084; Reuters Messaging: ritsuko.ando.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.