BC-US--Frontier-Verizon, 1st Ld-Writethru,0151

Frontier closes $5.3B deal for Verizon phone lines

STAMFORD, Conn. (AP) -- Frontier Communications Corp. closed its $5.3 billion acquisition of phone lines in 14 states belonging to Verizon Communications Inc., the company said Thursday.

Frontier, a Stamford-based phone company that focuses on small towns and rural areas, is taking over 4 million Verizon phone lines in a deal that will triple its size.

The acquisition was announced just over a year ago. Frontier agreed to pay roughly $5.3 billion in stock and take on roughly $3.3 billion of debt.

With the spin-off, Verizon shareholders will get 0.24 shares of Frontier, worth about $1.75 at Thursday's price, for every Verizon share they owned on June 7. Together, Verizon's shareholders will own 68 percent of Frontier.

Shares of Frontier rose 20 cents, or 2.8 percent, to $7.31 in afternoon trading, while Verizon shares were up 8 cents at $28.19.