VNU books £1.4bn directories arm sale

DUTCH group VNU, the owner of market research company ACNielsen, is to sell its telephone directories unit to Apax Partners and Cinven in a euro&;2.1bn (£1.4bn) deal.

VNU is the latest in a series of European owners, including BT and Telecom Italia, to have sold yellow pages operations in the past three years to raise cash. France Telecom plans to sell its directories unit later this year. Such operations are facing increased competition from internet companies.

VNU hired Credit Suisse First Boston and Goldman Sachs in May to advise on the sale. VNU World Directories employs 2,200 people and had euro&;211m in operating income in 2003.

VNU plans to use at least half of the proceeds from the sale to repay debt. The sale is expected to close by the end of 2005.

'The transaction allows us to focus on our high-growth core marketing, media measurement and business information activities,' said VNU chairman and chief executive Rob van den Bergh.

The deal, one of the largest European buyouts of the year, attracted all the big-name venture capital groups including Blackstone, Carlyle, BC Partners and a team comprising CVC Capital and Permira.

Cinven and Apax already have several investments in the publishing arena. Apax retains a 4% stake in FTSE 100 directories business Yell.