Embarq seen naming Gerke as permanent CEO - WSJ

PHILADELPHIA, March 2 (Reuters) - Embarq Corp (EQ.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), the former local telephone business of Sprint, is close to naming Tom Gerke as its permanent chief executive, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Gerke, who has served as Embarq's interim chief executive since December, was expected to be made permanent CEO as early as Monday, according to a story posted on Saturday in the newspaper's electronic edition.

The phone company's board was scheduled to meet this weekend, the newspaper said.

Embarq was not immediately available for comment. (Reporting by Jessica Hall, editing by Jacqueline Wong) (For more M&A news and our DealZone blog, go to here)