Qwest Communications failed to get an adequate offer for its long-distance business, it said.

The statement was the first confirmation that Qwest’s long-distance business was for sale. The company was spurred to actively seek offers after receiving an unsolicited bid for the unit.

“Although there was significant interest in this process from prospective buyers,” Qwest said, “the company and its board of directors have determined that the long-distance network asset holds far more value to Qwest shareholders and is more strategically important to Qwest and its customers than is the alternative of pursuing a transaction.”

That Qwest was entertaining bids was first reported by The Wall Street Journal last week. The WSJ article said that Verizon and AT&T were uninterested, and that the bids Qwest did receive were too low (story here).

Qwest took the opportunity to reaffirm its guidance for the full year 2009: adjusted free cash flow in the $1.4 billion to $1.5 billion range, full-year adjusted EBITDA of $4.2 billion to $4.4 billion, and capital expenditures of $1.8 billion or lower.