| For Immediate Release | ||||||||||||||||
| 5/13/2004 |
||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||
| |
||||||||||||||||
NEW YORK, NY May 13, 2004 User-Friendly Phone Book, LLC, a leading independent yellow page directory publisher based in Louisiana, announced that it has acquired the English-language version of the Blue Book Telephone Directory from Cobalt Publishing, LLC, an affiliate of Cobalt Ventures, LLC. The Blue Book Telephone Directory is based outside of Louisville in Shelby County, Kentucky. Approximately 126,000 copies of the yellow pages directory are distributed annually. Under the terms of the deal, Cobalt will continue to publish Spanish-language telephone directories in Nashville, Cincinnati, Louisville, Lexington and Indianapolis. No other terms of the transaction were disclosed. Bruce Howard, Chief Executive Officer of User-Friendly, said, "With the acquisition of the Blue Book, we are now able to expand our geographic footprint in the Louisville market and provide greater coverage for our advertisers. The Blue Book has a long history of effectively serving its customers." Jonathan Blue, Managing Director of Cobalt Publishing, said, "The sale of the Blue Book to User-Friendly will allow Cobalt Publishing to focus on the growth of its core asset base of Spanish Language Directories which meet the needs of the rapidly emerging Hispanic market and provide a unique opportunity for our advertisers seeking to attract, or currently serving, Hispanic consumers." User-Friendly publishes eight yellow page directories throughout Louisiana, Texas, Kentucky and Indiana. Since 1999, the current management team has successfully launched or acquired assets within five new markets, including three of its four largest directories. The Company serves over 8,000 advertisers with a combined circulation of 1.1 million. User-Friendly is a portfolio company of VS&A Communications Partners III, LP, the private equity affiliate of media industry merchant bank Veronis Suhler Stevenson. About User-Friendly Phonebook About Cobalt Ventures About Veronis Suhler Stevenson |