CenturyLink acquires Tier 3 to accelerate cloud platform strategy

-- Tier 3 forms foundation of CenturyLink Cloud, new Seattle-based Cloud Development Center

MONROE, Louisiana, and BELLEVUE, Washington, Nov. 19, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- CenturyLink, Inc. (NYSE: CTL) today announced the acquisition of Tier 3, an innovative provider of public cloud services based in the Seattle area. Tier 3's cloud platform is immediately available as "CenturyLink Cloud." In addition, Tier 3's products, roadmap and vision are now the foundation of CenturyLink's cloud strategy and anchor the new Seattle-based CenturyLink Cloud Development Center.

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"Our mission is to provide world-class managed services to global businesses on virtual, dedicated and colocation infrastructures. Tier 3's innovative automation and self-service platform are game-changing for our global enterprise clients," said Jeff Von Deylen, president of CenturyLink's Savvis organization. "From greenfield development to mission-critical apps, businesses have a trusted technology partner to seize new market opportunities. This acquisition underscores our continued commitment to delivering the most complete portfolio of cloud services."

Jared Wray, the founder and chief technology officer for Tier 3, will now serve as chief technology officer for the CenturyLink Cloud organization and lead the CenturyLink Cloud Development Center. Leveraging the philosophy and processes at the heart of Tier 3's cloud innovation – including embracing agile DevOps and open-source development - the Cloud Development Center will bring together cloud development expertise and unite CenturyLink cloud technical resources to develop innovative services.

"We founded Tier 3 in 2006 with a vision for cloud services that make life easier for enterprise developers and IT alike. We now have an amazing home at CenturyLink to carry this vision forward," Wray said. "Our platform roadmap will combine with CenturyLink's global network and data center footprint and managed services team to help change the face of enterprise computing."

The new CenturyLink Cloud – based on Tier 3's public, multi-tenant cloud – targets complex enterprise workloads and is user-friendly for businesses of all sizes. With the product's self-service interface, administrators can quickly create and manage highly available public cloud environments. A web services API and Cloud Foundry-based Platform-as-a-Service provide a comprehensive cloud application toolkit for enterprise developers. Recent analyst reports have recognized Tier 3's depth of capabilities and performance.

This acquisition builds on CenturyLink's earlier AppFog acquisition and existing cloud solutions that are complemented by CenturyLink's colocation, managed services and network offerings. The CenturyLink Cloud is available today in nine data centers around the world.

CenturyLink acquired Tier 3 for an undisclosed price.

For more information, visit www.centurylinkcloud.com.

About CenturyLink
CenturyLink is the third largest telecommunications company in the United States and is recognized as a leader in the network services market by technology industry analyst firms. The company is a global leader in cloud infrastructure and hosted IT solutions for enterprise customers. CenturyLink provides data, voice and managed services in local, national and select international markets through its high-quality advanced fiber optic network and multiple data centers for businesses and consumers. The company also offers advanced entertainment services under the CenturyLink^® Prism™ TV and DIRECTV brands. Headquartered in Monroe, La., CenturyLink is an S&P 500 company and is included among the Fortune 500 list of America's largest corporations.

For more information, visit www.savvis.com or www.centurylink.com.

Forward-Looking Statements
Except for the historical and factual information contained herein, the matters set forth in this communication, including statements regarding the expected benefits of the acquisition such as efficiencies, cost savings, enhanced revenues, growth potential, market profile and financial strength, and the competitive ability and position of the combined company, and other statements identified by words such as "estimates," "expects," "projects," "plans," and similar expressions are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions, many of which are beyond our control. Actual events and results may differ materially from those anticipated, estimated or projected if one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or if underlying assumptions prove incorrect. Factors that could affect actual results include but are not limited to: the possibility that the anticipated benefits from the acquisition cannot be fully realized or may take longer to realize than expected; the possibility that costs or difficulties related to the integration of Tier 3's operations into CenturyLink will be greater than expected; the ability of the combined company to retain and hire key personnel; the timing, success and overall effects of competition from a wide variety of competitive providers; the risks inherent in rapid technological change; the effects of ongoing changes in the regulation of the communications industry; the ability of the combined company to effectively adjust to changes in the communications industry and to successfully introduce new product or service offerings on a timely and cost-effective basis; any adverse developments in commercial disputes or legal proceedings; changes in our future cash requirements; and other risk factors and cautionary statements as detailed from time to time in CenturyLink's reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. You should be aware that new factors may emerge from time to time and it is not possible for us to identify all such factors nor can we predict the impact of each such factor on the acquisition or the combined company. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this communication. Unless legally required, we undertake no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Image with caption: "Tier 3's cloud platform is immediately available as "CenturyLink Cloud" at www.centurylinkcloud.com." Image available at: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20131118/MM19145-a

Image with caption: "The new CenturyLink Cloud – based on Tier 3's public, multi-tenant cloud – targets complex enterprise workloads and is user-friendly for businesses of all sizes. CenturyLink Cloud is available now at www.centurylinkcloud.com." Image available at: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20131118/MM19145-b

Image with caption: "CenturyLink Cloud CTO: Jared Wray, the founder and chief technology officer for Tier 3, will now serve as chief technology officer for the CenturyLink Cloud organization and lead the CenturyLink Cloud Development Center." Image available at: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20131118/MM19145-c

SOURCE CenturyLink, Inc.