Embarq Splits From Sprint, Starts Trading on NYSE

Embarq Corp. on Thursday officially split from Sprint Nextel Corp. and started trading on the New York Stock Exchange as its own company.

The former local communications business of Sprint Nextel is trading as a member of the S&P 500 under the symbol EQ. Shares were selling for $43.91 early Thursday afternoon, down 59 cents.

Investors who held Sprint Nextel common stock on May 8, 2006, received one share of Embarq common stock for every 20 shares of Sprint Nextel common stock they owned. The number of Sprint Nextel common shares held did not change.

Embarq specializes in basic and advanced voice, data, Internet, wireless and entertainment services. The company said it expects to launch an integrated wireless and wireline voice mail platform in June, and is conducting a Wi-Fi trial for first responders with the city of Henderson, Nev.

The Sprint spinoff is led by Daniel R. Hesse, CEO, and Michael B. Fuller, COO. Hesse also serves as chairman of the board of directors. The board is made up of Peter C. Brown, chairman, CEO and president of AMC Entertainment Inc.; Steven A. Davis, CEO of Bob Evans Farms; John P. Mullen, joint chief executive of DHL Express Inc.; William A. Owens, former CEO of Nortel Networks Corp. and former vice chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff; Dinesh C. Paliwal, chairman and CEO of ABB Inc. North America, and president of global markets and technology of ABB Ltd.; Stephanie M. Shern, former vice chair and the global director of retail and consumer products for Ernst & Young LLP; and Laurie A. Siegel, senior vice president of human resources and internal communications for Tyco International (US) Inc.

Prior to becoming an independent company, Embarq was a wholly owned subsidiary of Sprint Nextel. Its assets and business consist largely of those that made up Sprint Nextel's former local telecommunications division and Sprint North Supply operations. Embarq employs approximately 20,000 people and provides services in 18 states.

Embarq Corp. www.embarq.com
Sprint Nextel www.sprint.com

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