NEW YORK , May 3, 2004 Veronis Suhler Stevenson, a leading independent media merchant bank, today announced the appointment of François R. Roy, former Chief Financial Officer at Quebecor Inc., Avenor Inc. and Telemedia Corporation, to its Board of Advisors. Mr. Roy, age 48, brings to bear the extensive experience he accrued at Quebecor in the areas of newspaper, magazine and book publishing as well as television and record distribution. He brings further expertise in the areas of radio broadcasting and towers from his tenure at Telemedia. Mr. Roy began his career as a corporate banker at The Bank of Nova Scotia and later served as Director of Finance at Société générale de financement du Québec.

Mr. Roy currently serves on the Board of Directors of MDC Partners Inc., Advanced Fiber Technologies (AFT) Inc., and the Macquarie Power Income Fund and is a member of the Advisory Board of Dessau-Soprin. He has also served on the Board of Trustees of several not-for-profit organizations such as the Montréal Museum of Fine Arts, Canadian Centre for Architecture, International Festival of Art Films and continues to serve on the Board of Trustees of the Opéra de Montréal. He is a graduate of Upper Canada College and the University of Toronto, where he received his MBA in 1980.

"It is an honor to have François join our Board of Advisors," commented John S. Suhler, President and Co-CEO of Veronis Suhler Stevenson. "Due to his wealth of experience, energy and focus in the media and financial services sectors, we welcome his participation and look forward to the contributions François will undoubtedly make to the future direction of the VSS platform and merchant banking operation."

The Veronis Suhler Stevenson Board of Advisors is comprised of leaders from the media industry and international politics. As a member, Mr. Roy will play a key role for the firm in new business development, provide strategic guidance to portfolio companies and lend his industry expertise for the benefit of the VSS Private Equity funds and the VSS Investment Bank. Each Advisor has an opportunity to participate economically alongside the GP through co-investment opportunities and carry participation on transactions in which they play a role in sourcing, serving as board members, or acting on behalf of the portfolio company. Mr. Roy joins existing VSS Board of Advisor members David Arculus, Reginald K. Brack, Jan O. Froeshaug, Herbert A. Granath, The Right Honourable Brian Mulroney, and John R. Purcell.

About Veronis Suhler Stevenson
Veronis Suhler Stevenson is a leading independent private equity firm dedicated to the media, communications and information industries. Veronis Suhler Stevenson has completed over 630 transactions since its inception in 1981. The firm has acted as a financial advisor across the full spectrum of media, communication and information segments and provides the following services: private equity investment and mergers & acquisitions advisory services. VS&A Communications Partners III, LP is the third private equity fund managed by Veronis Suhler Stevenson. Capitalized at over $1 billion, it is one of the largest private equity funds dedicated exclusively to investments in the media, communications and information industries. The VSS Private Equity buyout funds have invested in 33 platform companies and 153 add-on acquisitions, across multiple media segments; the realized and unrealized enterprise value of these investments total approximately $7 billion.

Contacts:

Veronis Suhler Stevenson

Stanton Crenshaw Communications