Yellowbook

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General

Yellow Book USA™ (a subsidiary of Yell Group Plc, a publicly traded company on the London Stock Exchange) is the largest independent (non-telephone company affiliated) publisher of yellow pages directories in the United States. For over 75 years the company and its predecessors have been publishing local yellow pages directories.

The sale of print and online yellow pages advertising accounts for substantially all of the company’s revenues. The company distributes the directories free of charge to residents and businesses in the communities that the directories serve.

The company's website can be accessed at www.yellowbook.com

History

Yellow Book was founded on Long Island, New York as the Merchant's Advertising Service in 1930. In 1950 the company was renamed as 'Yellow Book' and began expansion through acquisitions and original publications.

In December, 1997 Yellow Book acquired the entire R H Donnelley Proprietary East directory business. This acquisition included 43 yellow pages directories in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Washington, D.C.

This transaction made Yellow Book, by far, the largest independent publisher of yellow pages in the US, bringing Yellow Book's total number of directories to 250 in seven states—New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Florida, Maryland, Washington, Virginia and Delaware—and the District of Columbia. The size of Yellow Book more than doubled, with revenues approaching $200 million and more than 900 employees.

In July, 1998 Yellow Book USA acquired the Southern Directory Company, Inc., publisher of 29 directories in five states: Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee and North Carolina. With this acquisition, Yellow Book USA published approximately 280 directories.

In March, 1999 Yellow Book USA took Manhattan by storm with the announcement of its new Manhattan Book. This ended the yellow pages monopoly in Manhattan. Finally, Manhattan had a choice. The new Manhattan Yellow Book gives Manhattan residents and businesses one directory with comprehensive yellow pages with both business and consumer headings, plus business white pages. Other useful product features include cross-street locators, restaurant menus, a fold-out map and more. The directory will be hand-delivered by the US Postal Service.

In March, 2000 Yellow Book USA announced its entry into the Boston market. The Greater Boston Yellow Book, a city directory, will be delivered to more than one million homes and businesses. The Boston Metro West Yellow Book directory will be delivered in communities on the western area of Boston. The Boston yellow pages market will be changed forever.

In May, 2000 Yellow Book USA acquired Sprint Publishing and Advertising's Midwest operations. This acquisition adds 55 directories to Yellow Book's business and expands the company's reach into the Chicago suburbs and into the Milwaukee area.

In December, 2002 Yellow Book acquired the National Directory Company, the sixth largest independent yellow pages publisher, expanding its footprint into three additional states - Arizona, California and New Mexico.

In March, 2004 Yellow Book announced the acquisition of Feist Publications, Inc., the fifth largest independent publisher of telephone directories in the nation. This acquisition expands Yellow Book’s footprint in Oklahoma and Kansas and gives the company a presence in Texas for the first time.

In May, 2004 Yellow Book announced plans to enter the $120 million Las Vegas, Nevada market. The new book will bring true competition to one of the nation's last remaining monopolies.

In December, 2004 Yellow Book announced it will enter the Atlanta Metro market. The new directory, soon to become Yellow Book’s largest in the state, expands the company’s natural footprint in Georgia and smashes the BellSouth monopoly in Atlanta.

In July, 2005 Yellow Book completed the purchase of TransWestern Publishing, combining two of the nation’s leading independent publishers of yellow pages. This transaction extends Yellow Book’s footprint into 46 states and the District of Columbia and increases its number of published directories to approximately 900 with a circulation of over 100 million.

In February, 2006 Yellow Book announced that it has acquired Click Forward Marketing LLC, based in Coral Gables, Florida. The acquisition brings together the technological skills of Click Forward with Yellow Book’s nationwide sales force and allows Yellow Book to deliver low cost leads to advertisers efficiently across the internet.