ARCHIVE 2005

Veronis Suhler Stevenson and 3i sell YBR Group for EUR 1,825 Billion

MACQUARIE LED GROUP BUYS EUROPEAN DIRECTORIES COMPANY

London -- May 15, 2005 – Veronis Suhler Stevenson and 3i Group plc today announced the signing of a definitive agreement to sell YBR Group, one of Europe’s leading directory services companies, to a consortium led by Macquarie Capital Alliance Group and including Macquarie Bank Limited, Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and Nikko Principal Investments Limited for EUR 1,825 Billion. YBR has strong printed directory, online, mobile search, and directory assistance businesses in the Netherlands, Finland, Austria, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

YBR Group was formed by Veronis Suhler Stevenson and 3i Group, leading private equity investors with extensive interests in media and publishing, in March 2004. It consists of four principal operations: De Telefoongids, headquartered in Amsterdam, the leading directory brand in the Netherlands; Fonecta, based in Helsinki, the leading directory and search provider in Finland, with call centre operations in France; Herold, headquartered in Vienna, the incumbent Austrian directory provider; and Mediatel, based in Prague, the incumbent directory provider in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, with further operations in Gibraltar and Poland.

Veronis Suhler Stevenson has a proven track record of successful investments in the directory sector, notably Yellow Book USA (sold to British Telecom), and The User-Friendly Phone Book, a current portfolio company which serves over a dozen U.S. markets. Under the ownership of Veronis Suhler Stevenson and 3i, the YBR Group management team has successfully grown the business, both organically and through acquisitions. The sale marks the attainment of the strategic goal behind the group’s formation: the sharing of expertise and best practices, and the realisation of synergies across the decentralised operations.

“YBR has leading market positions and strong regional brands, and is managed by an experienced executive team,” said Marco Sodi, a Partner at Veronis Suhler Stevenson in London. “They have done an excellent job executing the group’s strategy.”

“With an extensive development program now completed, it is time for new ownership to take the company to the next level,” added Morgan Callagy, a Managing Director at Veronis Suhler Stevenson in London. “We believe that we have found that owner in Macquarie, and wish them well in maximising YBR’s significant future growth potential.“

Goldman Sachs International and UBS Investment Bank acted as joint financial advisers to 3i, VSS and the Company in relation to the sale of YBR. Goldman Sachs International and Lehman Brothers advised in relation to the staple-on financing.

About Veronis Suhler Stevenson
Veronis Suhler Stevenson (VSS) is a private equity and mezzanine capital fund management company dedicated to investing in the media, communications and information industries in North America and Europe. Since 1987, VSS has managed over $2 billion in committed capital across four private equity funds and a mezzanine debt fund, all focused exclusively on the media, communications and information industries. VSS provides capital for buyouts, recapitalizations, growth financings and strategic acquisitions to companies and management teams with a goal to build companies both organically and through a focused add-on acquisition program. To date, VSS equity funds have invested in 34 platform companies, which have in turn completed over 185 add-on acquisitions resulting in a portfolio with realized and unrealized enterprise values totaling approximately $7.5 billion. The VSS investment team is comprised of professionals who possess a unique combination of media operating experience as well as media-focused financial transaction expertise. VSS professionals are capable of providing a combination of strategic operational insight, relevant industry contacts and sophisticated financial advice to portfolio companies over the entire life cycle of an investment. Investments include Hanley-Wood, Ascend Media, Facts On File and Hemscott. For additional information: (www.vss.com).

About 3i
3i invests in a wide range of opportunities from start-ups to buy-outs and buy-ins, focusing on businesses with high growth potential and strong management. It invests in businesses across three continents through local investment teams in Europe, Asia Pacific and the USA. To date, 3i has invested over £15 billion (including co-investment funds). 3i has been very active in the media-publishing sector. Recent acquisitions include Crown Media inc’s international TV assets Trinity Mirror's Northern Irish newspapers and Boxer TV in Scandinavia. We have also had a successful run of recent realisations including the IPO of Pinewood Studios and the sales of Malmberg, MORI and Butler Group.

About YBR Group
YBR Group is a pan-European directories services company, operating in printed directories, online and mobile searches and directory assistance in the Netherlands, Finland, Austria, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The company was created in 2004 through the merger of De Telefoongids, Fonecta and Mediatel and has leading market positions with strong regional brands. YBR Group has a strong historic track record of growth, and expects to continue growth both organically and through acquisitions.

For further information please contact:

Marco Sodi
Veronis Suhler Stevenson
+44 (0) 779 525 6697
sodim@vss.com

Sam Hollander
Stanton Crenshaw Communications
(212)-780-1900
shollander@stantoncrenshaw.com