CenturyLink Inc. agreed to buy Level 3 Communications Inc. for about $34 billion in cash and stock, creating a more formidable competitor to AT&T Inc. in the market to handle heavy internet traffic for businesses, Bloomberg reported. The acquisition values Level 3 at $66.50 a share, the companies said in a statement today. That’s about 42 percent above where the Broomfield, Colo.-based company was trading last week, before reports surfaced of a potential acquisition by CenturyLink, which is based in Monroe, La. The value of the deal includes assumed debt. Level 3 is one of the largest providers used by internet services including Netflix Inc. and Google to route traffic across the web, operations that would bolster CenturyLink’s core offerings to businesses. CenturyLink employs 600 people in Greater Des Moines, according to the 2016 Business Record Book of Lists.