MONROE, La.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 31, 2005--CenturyTel, Inc.
(NYSE: CTL) announced today that it has repurchased 12.9 million
shares of its outstanding common stock from affiliates of J.P. Morgan
Securities Inc., Lehman Brothers Inc.
and Banc of America
Securities
LLC. The Company purchased these shares at an average initial price of
$32.34 per share, or $416.5 million in the aggregate, under
accelerated share repurchase agreements. The common shares repurchased
by CenturyTel
have been retired.
As discussed in CenturyTel's
May 13, 2005 press release, these
investment banks are expected to repurchase an equivalent number of
shares in the open market in the coming months. Once these repurchases
are complete, the Company may receive or be required to pay a price
adjustment (payable in either shares or cash) based principally on the
actual cost of the shares repurchased by the investment banks.
CenturyTel's
share repurchases mitigate the dilution associated
with its issuance on May 16, 2005 of 12.9 million shares in connection
with the Company's settlement of its previously outstanding Equity
Units.
CenturyTel
retains authority to purchase additional common stock
under its $200 million repurchase program announced in February 2005
(of which approximately $140 million remained available as of March
31, 2005), although it does not intend to use this program while the
investment banks are conducting repurchases under the accelerated
share repurchase agreements.
This press release includes certain forward-looking statements.
Actual results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking
statements. Factors that could affect actual results include but are
not limited to the possibility of changes in the trading price of
CenturyTel's
securities, changes in general market, economic or
industry conditions impacting share repurchases, or other risks
referenced from time to time in the Company's filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission. You should not place undue
reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of
the date of this press release.
CenturyTel, Inc.
(NYSE: CTL) provides a full range of local, long
distance, Internet and broadband services to consumers in 22 states.
Included in the S&P 500 Index, CenturyTel
is a leading provider of
integrated communications services to rural areas and small to
mid-size cities in the United States. Visit CenturyTel
at
www.centurytel.com.
CONTACT: CenturyTel, Inc.
Investors:
Tony Davis, 318-388-9525
tony.davis@centurytel.com
or
Media:
Patricia Cameron, 318-388-9674
patricia.cameron@centurytel.com
SOURCE: CenturyTel, Inc.