By Josh Beckerman
YP Holdings, which was formed in 2012 with the assets of
AT&T Inc.'s Yellow Pages business, will split its digital
advertising and print directory operations into two companies.
The move is intended to "drive deeper product focus," YP said.
The companies will have separate leadership but will work together
through a strategic sales agency agreement.
Private-equity firm Cerberus Capital Management bought a
majority of AT&T's Yellow Pages unit in 2012. The
telecommunications company received $750 million in cash and a $200
million note from Cerberus, and retained a 47% ownership stake in
YP Holdings at the time of the transaction. In 2011, the business
units included in the deal had $3.3 billion in revenue.
YP's digital properties include the YP app and YP.com. The
company has been working to increase its mobile efforts, and now
receives more than half of its search volume from mobile
devices.
Several media, pharmaceutical and industrial companies have
split in recent years, looking to separate their high-growth
businesses from legacy operations.
YP expects to complete the legal separation on June 30.
Write to Josh Beckerman at josh.beckerman@wsj.com
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