Goldman Sachs to advise on possible Yellow Pages sale
Yellow Pages Group (YPG), in conjunction with its banking syndicate, has commenced a review process to assess a possible sale.
YPG has appointed Goldman Sachs JBWere to assist it in this process.
Telecom sold off its directories business including Yellow Pages in 2007 for $2.2 billion to CCMP (now Unitas Capital) and the Ontario Teachers Plan.
Unitas and Teachers funded the purchase with $1.325 billion senior debt, a $300 million subordinated bridge loan and a $175 million payment-in-kind (PIK) note.
The resulting debt burden has proved too much for the YPG, which earlier this year announced a $338 million annual loss.
Other issues have included a the rise and rise of sometime-ally, often-time competitor Google, the recession, an endless upgrade (still in the works) for the bare-bones yellow.co.nz, and a horror-show 018 offshoring effort.
On May 31, the company's CFO quit amid attempts to refinance some $1.7 billion in loans.
YPG's current owners look set to book a huge loss on any sale engineered by Goldman Sachs, and are now not looking quite so canny as 2007.
But former Telecom chief executive Theresa Gattung's decision to flick off her company's directory business while the going was good is looking better and better.
MORE:
Banks fear the Yellow Peril as loan runs out
Yellow Pages CFO quits, banking talks 'constructive'
Yellow loses key director
Yellow Pages Group clocks $338m loss
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Comments and questions9
now who would buy a loss making financially cripled business? Allied, South Cantabury Finance must already be in the queue!!
Quintessential karitane crap purchase by private equity fund, you see it over and over (Independant Liquor) where these so called PE experts, ripping enormous fees from these purchases, pay any old price for these companies just to secure fees. If purchase and management fees to these PE gurus were related to subsequent profits of these newly purchased companies, things would be more prudent.
Better still, given these PE predators are only hold and sell vehicles, best to tie the SUCCESS FEES to a % of the eventual on-sell profits.......see how much better the bids would be under this scenario
agree with you Bo jangles. Add GEON print group to that list. Losing $1million per WEEK and still predatory pricing in the market. The trouble is, they are now probably too big to fail, in the banks' eyes anyway.
Well, at least it's the right colour, considering it's a lemon.
Yep, boy genius Steve Hollowhead is offering a 10% premium on the original purchase price. He's asking his -- erstwhile -- Hanover shareholders to stump up.
U mean Gattung actually did something that made telecom money during her time destroying billions from the companies market cap - Wow!!
leveraging their brainpower, with other peoples money.
Did I read this correctly ? Goldman Sachs made millions on the sale of teh lemon, and now are set to make more millions when they find another sucker ? They really are masters of the universe !
Maybe they should look to sell the skyhawks !!!!
Did I read this correctly ? Goldman Sachs made millions on the sale of teh lemon, and now are set to make more millions when they find another sucker ? They really are masters of the universe !
Maybe they should look to sell the skyhawks !!!!
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