MONROE, La., Oct. 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- In January 2009, prior to their merger, CenturyTel and Embarq announced the settlement of a shareholder class action which sought additional disclosures concerning the merger. The requested disclosures were made in an 8-K filing with the SEC on January 16, 2009. CenturyLink announces that the court, on September 18, 2009, directed that a notice of the settlement be mailed to all shareholders. A summary of that notice is as follows.
TO: ALL PERSONS OR ENTITIES WHO HELD SHARES OF EMBARQ CORPORATION COMMON STOCK at any time from OCTOBER 26, 2008 THROUGH AND INCLUDING JULY 1, 2009, THE DATE ON WHICH THE MERGER BETWEEN EMBARQ CORPORATION AND CENTURYTEL, INC. BECAME EFFECTIVE:
YOU ARE HEREBY NOTIFIED that a proposed settlement (the "Settlement") has been reached in the above-captioned class action (the "Action") whereby in consideration for the Settlement, dismissal with prejudice of the Action, and mutual releases between the Settling Parties of all claims against Defendants arising out of or related to the subject matter of the Action, Defendants agreed to make certain supplemental disclosures in a January 16, 2009 Form 8-K filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. Except as expressly provided herein, all capitalized terms shall have the same meanings and/or definitions as set forth in the Stipulation and Agreement of Settlement, dated September 1, 2009 filed in the Action.
A hearing will be held before the Honorable Kevin P. Moriarty in the District Court of Johnson County, Kansas, Civil Court Department, 100 North Kansas Avenue, Olathe, Kansas 66061 at 10:00 a.m. on November 20, 2009 to determine: (i) whether a Settlement Class should be certified for settlement purposes; (ii) whether the Settlement of the Action on the terms and conditions provided for in the Stipulation and Agreement of Settlement is fair, reasonable, and adequate to the Settlement Class and should be approved by the Court; (iii) whether the Action should be dismissed with prejudice; and (iv) whether the Court should approve Plaintiff's Counsel agreed-to attorneys' fees and reimbursement of expenses.
IF YOU ARE A MEMBER OF THE SETTLEMENT CLASS DESCRIBED ABOVE, YOUR RIGHTS WILL BE AFFECTED.
If you have not yet received a printed Notice of Pendency and Proposed Settlement of Class Action and Settlement Hearing ("Mailed Notice"), you may obtain a copy of this document at http://www.gardencitygroup.com/ or by contacting Plaintiff's Counsel.
All other queries may be made to Plaintiff's Counsel: BENJAMIN ROZWOOD, ESQ. ROBBINS UMEDA LLP 600 B STREET, SUITE 1900 SAN DIEGO, CA 92101 TELEPHONE: (619) 525-3990
Any Member of the Settlement Class may request to be excluded from the Settlement Class, but only with respect to a claim for damages. Settlement Class Members may not exclude themselves from the Settlement for the purpose of pursuing any other kind of claim. A request for exclusion must be mailed to Plaintiff's Counsel, Benjamin Rozwood, Robbins Umeda LLP, 600 B Street, Suite 1900, San Diego, California 92101, and Defendant's Counsel, Mark D. Hinderks, 10975 Benson, Suite 550, 12 Corporate Woods, Overland Park, Kansas 66210, and postmarked on or before November 10, 2009 and otherwise comply with the requirements set forth in the Mailed Notice.
Settlement Class Members will be bound by the final judgment of the Court. If you are a Settlement Class Member, you may make a written objection to the Settlement. If you make a written objection, you also may appear at the Settlement Hearing, on November 20, 2009. You must file and serve your written objection, in the manner specifically set forth in the Mailed Notice, no later than November 10, 2009.
PLEASE DO NOT CONTACT THE COURT REGARDING THIS NOTICE. DATED: September 18, 2009 BY ORDER OF THE COURT DISTRICT COURT FOR JOHNSON COUNTY, KANSAS 409527_12 1833428.1 1898425.1
CenturyLink
CONTACT: Annmarie Sartor of CenturyLink, +1-318-388-9671
Web Site: http://www.centurytel.com/
