Deal between Qwest, US West may be close
US West's board of directors could approve a takeover offer from Qwest Communications International as early as this weekend, according to reports.
A Qwest spokeswoman would not discuss the ongoing merger negotiations, saying the company has "no new information." A US West spokesman would neither "confirm nor deny" a report from financial news network CNBC on the deal.
Qwest, a growing telecommunications carrier, has been engaged in a takeover battle with underseas fiber-optic company Global Crossing for nearly a month. The two companies are fighting for the right to acquire both US West, a local phone company, and Frontier, a long distance voice and Web hosting firm.
US West had already agreed to be acquired by Global Crossing in May.
The corporate marriage would be considered a merger of equal companies rather than a takeover, CNBC said. Executives at US West, a $30 billion company, earlier were concerned on whether the deal would be classified as a merger or a takeover.
Sol Trujillo, chief executive of US West, would be co-chairman of the combined company with Qwest chief executive Joseph Nacchio, CNBC reported.
Nacchio will continue to lead the combined company, to be called Qwest, according to reports.
Bloomberg contributed to this report.