US telecom company Windstream to buy EarthLink for $1.1 billion

Windstream Holdings Inc said on Monday it would buy fellow US telecommunications company EarthLink Holdings Corp in a deal valued at about $1.1 billion, including debt, in a bid to cut costs and better compete with rivals. EarthLink shareholders will receive 0.818 Windstream shares for each share they own.

The deal values EarthLink at about $645.2 million or $5.92 per share, based on Windstream’s Friday closing price, according to Reuters calculations. EarthLink had about $436 million in gross debt as of Sept. 30.