Yellow Media takes $2.9B charge, cancels AGM

http://www.bnn.ca/News/2012/5/8/Yellow-Media-takes-charge-cancels-AGM.aspx

Steve Ladurantaye, The Globe and Mail 7:11 AM, E.T. | May 8, 2012 Canadian

Tags: Yellow Media

A

A

Share on email

Follow this

Things just got worse at Yellow Media Inc., (YLO-T 0.07 -0.04 -35.00%) with the company's executives warning investors that digital ads aren't making up for the losses piling up in its printed phonebooks division.

With its share price near zero and bond holders thinking out loud about what it might take to privatize the company to recoup at least some of their investments, Yellow Media said late Monday that the business is worth far less than they believed only a few months ago as it recorded a $2.9-billion impairment charge.

"During the quarter, we noted changes in our revenue trends affecting our long-term projections," the company said in regulatory filings released late Monday. "Specifically, we now believe online revenue growth will be slower than previously anticipated and print decline will be steeper based on a more rapid and enduring change than previously anticipated."

The company said the trends are "significantly" different than they had expected throughout 2011, a harsh truth being noted by publishers of all kinds this year. But it was particularly concerned after an April deal that saw AT&T sell a majority stake in its phonebook division to Cerebrus Capital for about $950-million, which was "considerably less" than Yellow Media would have expected.

"[The deal] was for a price considerably lower than our estimated enterprise value," the company said. "The transaction highlights the challenges and the execution risks associated with our business and the industry in which we operate as we attempt to transition from a print-centric business to a digital company."