Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP and Stoll Stoll Berne Lokting & Shlachter P.C. Announce Pendency and Proposed Settlement of Class Action Involving Purchasers of CenturyLink, Inc. Common Stock and 7.60% Senior Notes due September 15, 2039

MINNEAPOLIS, April 26, 2021 /PRNewswire/ --

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF MINNESOTA

SUMMARY NOTICE OF (I) PENDENCY OF CLASS ACTION AND PROPOSED
SETTLEMENT; (II) SETTLEMENT FAIRNESS HEARING; AND (III) MOTION FOR
AN AWARD OF ATTORNEYS' FEES AND LITIGATION EXPENSES

TO: All persons and entities that purchased or otherwise acquired CenturyLink, Inc. ("CenturyLink")¹ common stock or 7.60% Senior Notes due September 15, 2039 during the period from March 1, 2013 through July 12, 2017, inclusive (the "Class Period"), and who were damaged thereby (the "Class"):

PLEASE READ THIS NOTICE CAREFULLY.  YOUR RIGHTS WILL BE AFFECTED BY A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT PENDING IN THIS COURT.

YOU ARE HEREBY NOTIFIED, pursuant to Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and an Order of the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota (the "Court"), that the above-captioned litigation (the "Action") has been certified as a class action on behalf of the Class, except for certain persons and entities who are excluded from the Class by definition as set forth in the full printed Notice of (I) Pendency of Class Action and Proposed Settlement; (II) Settlement Fairness Hearing; and (III) Motion for an Award of Attorneys' Fees and Litigation Expenses (the "Notice").

YOU ARE ALSO NOTIFIED that Plaintiffs in the Action have reached a proposed settlement of the Action for $55,000,000 in cash (the "Settlement").  If approved by the Court, the Settlement will resolve all claims in the Action.

A hearing (the "Settlement Fairness Hearing") will be held on July 20, 2021 at 11:00 a.m., before the Honorable Michael J. Davis either in person at the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota, Courtroom 13E of the Diana E. Murphy United States Courthouse, 300 South Fourth Street, Minneapolis, MN 55415, or by telephone or video conference (in the discretion of the Court), to determine, among other things: (i) whether the proposed Settlement on the terms and conditions provided for in the Stipulation is fair, reasonable, and adequate to the Class, and should be finally approved by the Court; (ii) whether the Action should be dismissed with prejudice against Defendants and the Releases specified and described in the Stipulation (and in the Notice) should be granted; (iii) whether the proposed Plan of Allocation should be approved as fair and reasonable; (iv) whether Lead Counsel's application for an award of attorneys' fees and expenses should be approved; and (v) any other matters that may properly be brought before the Court in connection with the Settlement.  The Court reserves the right to approve the Settlement, the Plan of Allocation, and Lead Counsel's motion for an award of attorneys' fees and expenses and/or consider any other matter related to the Settlement at or after the Settlement Fairness Hearing without further notice to the members of the Class.

The ongoing COVID-19 health emergency is a fluid situation that creates the possibility that the Court may decide to conduct the Settlement Fairness Hearing by video or telephonic conference, or otherwise allow Class Members to appear at the hearing by phone or video, without further written notice to the Class.  In order to determine whether the date and time of the Settlement Fairness Hearing have changed, or whether Class Members must or may participate by phone or video, it is important that you monitor the Court's docket and the Settlement website, www.CenturyLinkSecuritiesLitigation.com, before making any plans to attend the Settlement Fairness Hearing.  Any updates regarding the Settlement Fairness Hearing, including any changes to the date or time of the hearing or updates regarding in-person or telephonic/video appearances at the hearing, will be posted to the Settlement website, www.CenturyLinkSecuritiesLitigation.com. Also, if the Court requires or allows Class Members to participate in the Settlement Fairness Hearing by telephone or video conference, the information needed to access the conference will be posted to the Settlement website, www.CenturyLinkSecuritiesLitigation.com.

If you are a member of the Class, your rights will be affected by the pending Action and the Settlement, and you may be entitled to share in the Net Settlement Fund.  If you have not yet received the Notice and Claim Form, you may obtain copies of these documents by contacting the Claims Administrator at:  CenturyLink Securities Litigation, c/o Epiq, P.O. Box 2588, Portland, OR 97208-2588, 1-800-726-0952, [email protected]. Copies of the Notice and Claim Form can also be downloaded from the Settlement website, www.CenturyLinkSecuritiesLitigation.com.

If you are a member of the Class, in order to be eligible to receive a payment from the Settlement, you must submit a Claim Form by mail postmarked no later than August 13, 2021 or online using the Settlement website, www.CenturyLinkSecuritiesLitigation.com, no later than August 13, 2021.  If you are a Class Member and do not submit a proper Claim Form, you will not be eligible to receive a payment from the Settlement, but you will nevertheless be bound by any judgments or orders entered by the Court in the Action.

If you are a member of the Class and wish to exclude yourself from the Class, you must submit a request for exclusion such that it is received no later than June 29, 2021, in accordance with the instructions set forth in the Notice.  If you properly exclude yourself from the Class, you will not be bound by any judgments or orders entered by the Court in the Action and you will not be eligible to receive a payment from the Settlement.

Any objections to the proposed Settlement, the proposed Plan of Allocation, or Lead Counsel's motion for attorneys' fees and expenses must be filed with the Court and delivered to Lead Counsel and Defendants' Counsel such that they are received no later than June 29, 2021, in accordance with the instructions set forth in the Notice.

Please do not contact the Court, the Office of the Clerk of the Court, Defendants, or their counsel regarding this notice.  All questions about this notice, the proposed Settlement, or your eligibility to participate in the Settlement should be directed to the Claims Administrator or Lead Counsel.

Requests for the Notice and Claim Form should be made to:

CenturyLink Securities Litigation
c/o Epiq
P.O. Box 2588
Portland, OR 97208-2588
1-800-726-0952
[email protected] 
www.CenturyLinkSecuritiesLitigation.com

Inquiries, other than requests for the Notice and Claim Form, should be made to Lead Counsel:

John C. Browne, Esq.
Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP
1251 Avenue of the Americas, 44th Floor
New York, NY 10020
1-800-380-8496
[email protected]   

and/or  

Timothy S. DeJong, Esq.
Stoll Stoll Berne Lokting & Shlachter P.C.
209 SW Oak Street, Suite 500
Portland, OR 97204
1-503-227-1600
[email protected]

By Order of the Court

URL// www.CenturyLinkSecuritiesLitigation.com

¹ CenturyLink changed its legal name to "Lumen Technologies, Inc." on January 22, 2021.

SOURCE Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP and Stoll Stoll Berne Lokting & Shlachter P.C.