NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - Level 3 Communications Inc., the telecoms services company, announced Monday it would purchase the private telecom firm TelCove Inc. for $1.2 billion.

Level 3 (Research) will pay $637 million in stock, $445 million in cash and will assume $155.5 million in debt in its purchase of TelCove, according to the company.

Level 3 said the deal will expand its reach along the East Coast, and would give the company new telecommunications infrastructure in that region as it girds for competition against larger rivals Verizon Communications Inc. (Research) and AT&T Inc. (Research), the Wall Street Journal reported earlier Monday.

The company has been on a buying spree lately, having purchased three firms over the past six months. In April, Level 3 said it agreed to buy telecom ICG Communications Inc. for about $163 million, according to the paper

TelCove is a spin-off of bankrupt cable company Adelphia Communications Corp, the paper reported.

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