The owners of the Yellow Pages Group have withdrawn from a plan to sell the business because a satisfactory price is unlikely to be achieved in the current economic environment.Hong Kong-based Unitas Capital, formerly CCMP Capital Asia, and Canada's Ontar
The owners of the Yellow Pages Group have withdrawn from a plan to sell the business because a satisfactory price is unlikely to be achieved in the current economic environment.
Hong Kong-based Unitas Capital, formerly CCMP Capital Asia, and Canada's Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan bought the company for $2.24 billion in March 2007.
"Whilst there were a range of interested parties, the Yellow Pages Group shareholders, in conjunction with the banking syndicate, have come to the view that they won't be pursued any further at this time," the owners said today.
The current economic climate did not suit large-scale merger and acquisition activity, and "that as a result the expectations of the stakeholders in regard to value are unlikely to be met in the current market".
The banking syndicate, led by BNZ, would now continue with plans to restructure the company's debt, and planned to stick with the business long-term.
The syndicate is collectively owned around $1.6 billion.
