CenturyLink today completed its $24 billion acquisition of Denver-based Qwest, an epic merger that uproots a historic Colorado icon.

The nation’s third-largest land-line phone company will be called CenturyLink and be based more than 1,000 miles from Denver at CenturyLink’s headquarters in Monroe, La.

The combined company will employ 47,500 people and serve 15 million phone and 5 million broadband subscribers in 37 states.

CenturyLink, formerly CenturyTel, paid about $12 billion in stock and assumed nearly $12 billion in Qwest debt. Qwest shareholders received 0.1664 CenturyLink shares, which closed Thursday at $41.55, for each Qwest share.

“The combination of our two companies allows us to offer customers of all sizes an even more robust portfolio of communications solutions that will continue to be backed by honest and personal service,” said Glen F. Post, chief executive officer of CenturyLink.

The company’s board of directors includes current CenturyLink board members and four from Qwest’s board. Those joining from Qwest are Edward A. Mueller, Charles L. Biggs, Michael J. Roberts and James A. Unruh.

The deal was announced in April 2010, sending shockwaves through the Denver community.

Qwest’s iconic signs atop its 52-story headquarters building in downtown Denver will be taken down. The company’s corporate operations, such as accounting and human resources, are expected to feel the brunt of merger-related job cuts.

CenturyLink said today the Qwest brand will be switched out in the next several months. Five top Qwest executives will join the new company and be based in Denver, which will be one of six regional headquarters and home to the business markets group.

CenturyLink expects to shave $625 million annual in operating costs after the integration.

Combined, CenturyLink and Qwest employed about 7,400 in Colorado prior to the merger.

Qwest roots in Colorado span more than a century, though it’s present-day operations stem from the antitrust breakup of AT&T, or Ma Bell, in the early 1980s.

In the early 1990s, three “Baby Bells” consolidated to form US West. That company merged with Qwest in 2000 in a $45 billion deal. At the time, the Phil Anschutz-founded company was a fast-growing startup spending billions of dollars on a fiber-optic communications network that would carry the nation’s Internet traffic.

In addition to operating the nationwide network, Qwest provided local phone and broadband service in 14 states.

Andy Vuong: 303-954-1209, avuong@denverpost.com or twitter.com/andyvuong