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BT to offload Yell

Until January, BT seemed destined to float 25 per cent of its yellow pages division Yell, but the powers that be now seem prepared to let the entire unit go in a bid to raise around £3bn.

By Chris Holbrook

Published: 5 April 2001 11:07 BST

There is speculation that investor pressure has pushed the board into selling Yell to help ease fears that the telecoms giant is not doing enough to cut its mountainous £30bn debt.

In March, BT saw its share price plummet to 460p, a three-year low, prompting investors to call for changes at the company. In early trading this morning, BT shares had risen 3.12 per cent on news of the sale, to 529p.

According to the Financial Times, BT is in talks with at least three parties, but a private equity consortium including Apax Partners and Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst look the prime candidates to land the deal.

According to the report, other parties that have shown an interest in the Yell division are a group headed by US private equity firms Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Texas Pacific Group and Seat Pagine Gialle, the Italian yellow pages business part-owned by Telecom Italia.

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