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Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Level 3’s announced value for its 2011 acquisition of Global Crossing was about $3.0 billion, including roughly $1.1 billion of net debt. It was a stock-for-stock Bermuda amalgamation, not a cash purchase: eligible Global Crossing holders received 16 Level 3 shares for each share, and the transaction closed on October 4, 2011.
Why reports give both $3.0 billion and $3.4 billion
The $3.0 billion figure was the headline transaction value in the companies’ April 11, 2011 announcement. It used Level 3’s April 8 closing share price to value each Global Crossing share at $23.04, and included approximately $1.1 billion of Global Crossing net debt. This is the figure contemporary coverage commonly used for the deal.
Level 3’s 2012 Form 10-K, filed in 2013, later reported approximately $3.4 billion of aggregate acquisition consideration including assumed debt. That accounting figure reflected a different measurement point: the post-close share price, the shares issued after a later reverse-split adjustment, and approximately $1.36 billion of Global Crossing debt refinanced.
These figures describe different calculations rather than a simple correction to the original announcement. The $3.0 billion was the transaction’s announced value using a specified pre-deal share price and net-debt measure; the later $3.4 billion was an accounting consideration figure incorporating post-close share valuation and debt refinancing. Their debt amounts are not interchangeable because the measures and timing differ.
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What Global Crossing shareholders received
Under the agreement, each Global Crossing common or preferred share was exchanged for 16 Level 3 common shares, subject to the agreement’s conditions. The consideration was therefore shares rather than a cash payment to shareholders. At closing, Level 3 issued approximately 1.3 billion shares before a subsequent reverse split.
When Level 3 announced and completed the acquisition
The companies agreed to the transaction on April 10, 2011, and announced it the following day, April 11. It legally closed on October 4, 2011. Those dates refer to different stages: the April announcement disclosed the agreement, while the October date marks completion.
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The transaction was carried out through Apollo Amalgamation Sub, Ltd., a wholly owned Level 3 subsidiary organized in Bermuda. The legal form was a Bermuda-law amalgamation. Global Crossing continued as a Level 3 subsidiary after closing, and the closing announcement said both companies were represented on the board.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Why the companies said the deal made strategic sense
Level 3 and Global Crossing presented the combination as a way to build a larger global communications provider, combining IP and optical network capabilities and extending the companies’ reach. Their announcement described an owned network in more than 50 countries, with connections to more than 70, and customers across enterprise, government, wholesale, content and web-based markets.
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The companies also gave financial projections on a pro forma 2010 basis. These were management projections, not reported post-merger results:
| Measure | 2010 pro forma projection | Qualification |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $6.26 billion | Projected for the combined company |
| Adjusted EBITDA before synergies | $1.27 billion | Projected; before expected synergies |
| Adjusted EBITDA after expected synergies | $1.57 billion | Projected; includes expected synergies, not evidence those synergies were achieved |
The FCC’s 2011 account of the proposed transaction described the companies’ plans to expand globally delivered transport, IP-based, data, content-delivery, data-center, colocation and voice services. The materials cited here document projected synergies and accretion targets, but do not establish a definitive later outcome for those targets.
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What the deal’s headline value does—and does not—mean
- It was not a $3 billion cash offer to shareholders. The exchange was in Level 3 stock; the headline value included Global Crossing net debt.
- The $23.04 figure was a valuation, not a cash price paid per share. It was calculated using Level 3’s April 8 closing stock price for the April 11 announcement.
- The later $3.4 billion accounting figure uses different inputs. It incorporates post-close share pricing and debt treatment, so it should not be substituted for the announcement value without explaining the difference.
- Projected scale and synergies are not the same as verified results. The 2010 pro forma revenue and EBITDA amounts were management projections at announcement.
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