The yellow pages industry has been rocked in the last few months by economic woes resulting in two major publishers—Idearc Media and R.H. Donnelley—filing for bankruptcy protection and one international yellow pages publisher—Yell Group (London), the publisher of Yellowbook in the U.S.—announcing that it had begun a process to refinance its debt in the hope it could extend the maturity dates and change terms.

While many view the bankruptcies as a sign of a collapsing yellow pages print industry brought on by the Internet, others share the view that the economic woes resulted from decisions at Idearc and Donnelley that caused them to grow too much, too fast and too soon, expanding beyond the abilities to meet financial obligations as easy credit became hard credit.

The RBOC Bankruptcies 2009 takes an in-depth look at the actions behind the scenes that led to bankruptcy court and projects where the companies and the entire industry—both independent and incumbent—are likely to find themselves in the future.

Highlights of The RBOC Bankruptcies 2009 include:

• The cases behind the financial collapse of Idearc and R.H. Donnelley;

• The likely fate of the remaining mega publishers: AT&T, Local Insight and Yellow Pages Group;

• The impact on CMRs and suppliers;

• Delivering yellow pages information through print vs online or mobile;

• The keen competition to print the yellow pages heightens with Quebecor World in bankruptcy and R.R. Donnelley trying to buy the financially ailing printer;

• A look at the industry’s competition—both print and electronic;

• A segment by segment breakdown of the industry.

Additional Information

Stamford, CT—August 6, 2009— Last week, Simba Information yellow pages senior analyst David Goddard held a conversation on the recent bankruptcy filings of two of the largest directory publishers—Idearc Media and R.H. Donnelley. Goddard revealed to more than 100 attendees at Simba’s RBOC Bankruptcies 2009 webinar on July 28 that the significant debt carried by the bankrupt publishers is what led to their financial woes and the rest of the industry is not likely to follow suit.

Tied to the release of The RBOC Bankruptcies 2009: The Impact on the Future of the Yellow Pages Market, the latest business brief from market research firm Simba Information, the webinar concluded that these bankruptcies are a reflection of individual decisions and not indicative of a market collapse due to revenue declines on the print side of the industry.

Joining Goddard were Frank Jules (CEO, AT&T Advertising Solutions) and Scott Pomeroy (CEO, Local Insight Media) who shared with attendees the strategies that have made their companies successful in these difficult times and the new media tools they, and other publishers, should focus on to stay out of the red.

For more information on purchasing The RBOC Bankruptcies 2009: The Impact on the Future of the Yellow Pages Market, please visit or call research specialist Jason W. Fuchs at 212-807-2678. The RBOC Bankruptcies 2009 report takes an in-depth look at the actions behind the scenes that led Idearc Media and R.H. Donnelley to bankruptcy court and projects where the two companies and the entire industry—both independent and incumbent—are likely to find themselves in the future.

And if you missed The RBOC Bankruptcies webinar visit to purchase your copy of the recording.

About the Speakers:

Frank Jules is president and CEO of AT&T Advertising Solutions. He is responsible for all functions of the $5 billion business. The company provides a complete suite of print and online advertising search solutions that help small and medium businesses succeed. AT&T publishes more than 1,250 directory titles in 22 states with a distribution of about 173 million copies.

Jules received a Bachelor of Liberal Arts degree from Iona College in 1978. He serves on the board of the Yellow Pages Association and the Association of Directory Marketing.

Scott A. Pomeroy brings a wealth of experience to Local Insight Media as its president and CEO. Most recently, he held key leadership positions with Dex Media, including executive vice president and CFO, senior vice president of finance and vice president/treasurer. During his tenure there, Pomeroy was instrumental in achieving a successful "carve-out" from Qwest and in raising more than $10 billion in debt financing and $1 billion in equity financing in a successful IPO.

Over the course of his 23-year career, Pomeroy has held leadership positions in diverse industries, including chief financial officer for Eotec Capital and president and chief operating officer of Lewis Food Groups. Pomeroy began his career with KPMG Peat Marwick. He holds a B.B.A. in Accounting from the University of New Mexico and earned Certification in Public Accountancy. A member of the Yellow Pages Association, Pomeroy is a frequent speaker and contributor at industry and financial conferences.

David Goddard is senior analyst/editor of the Yellow Pages Group of Simba Information, where he oversees content gathering and presentation of Simba’s Yellow Pages & Directory Report and numerous related research reports. Prior to joining Simba, David worked at Eagle Publishing, a chain of daily and weekly newspapers and printing houses throughout the Northeast. At Eagle, he served as business editor and managing editor of several newspapers, and from 1988 to 1996 he was editor and publisher of the Vermont and then Connecticut operations.

Additional information can be found at www.simbainformation.com. or by calling 888-29-SIMBA.

About Simba Information:

Simba Information is widely recognized as the leading authority for market intelligence in the media and publishing industry. Simba's extensive information network delivers top quality, independent perspective on the people, events and alliances shaping the media and information industry. Simba provides consulting and reports that offer key decision-makers at more than 15,000 client companies around the globe with timely analysis, exclusive statistics and proprietary industry forecasts. For more information, please visit www.simbainformation.com.