NEW YORK, NY May 13, 2004 User-Friendly Phone Book, LLC, a leading independent yellow page directory publisher based in Louisiana, announced that it has acquired the English-language version of the Blue Book Telephone Directory from Cobalt Publishing, LLC, an affiliate of Cobalt Ventures, LLC. The Blue Book Telephone Directory is based outside of Louisville in Shelby County, Kentucky. Approximately 126,000 copies of the yellow pages directory are distributed annually. Under the terms of the deal, Cobalt will continue to publish Spanish-language telephone directories in Nashville, Cincinnati, Louisville, Lexington and Indianapolis. No other terms of the transaction were disclosed.

Bruce Howard, Chief Executive Officer of User-Friendly, said, "With the acquisition of the Blue Book, we are now able to expand our geographic footprint in the Louisville market and provide greater coverage for our advertisers. The Blue Book has a long history of effectively serving its customers."

Jonathan Blue, Managing Director of Cobalt Publishing, said, "The sale of the Blue Book to User-Friendly will allow Cobalt Publishing to focus on the growth of its core asset base of Spanish Language Directories which meet the needs of the rapidly emerging Hispanic market and provide a unique opportunity for our advertisers seeking to attract, or currently serving, Hispanic consumers."

User-Friendly publishes eight yellow page directories throughout Louisiana, Texas, Kentucky and Indiana. Since 1999, the current management team has successfully launched or acquired assets within five new markets, including three of its four largest directories. The Company serves over 8,000 advertisers with a combined circulation of 1.1 million. User-Friendly is a portfolio company of VS&A Communications Partners III, LP, the private equity affiliate of media industry merchant bank Veronis Suhler Stevenson.

About User-Friendly Phonebook
User-Friendly is a leading independent yellow pages company with directories in Louisiana, Texas, Kentucky and Indiana. The company currently serves over 8,000 advertisers with a combined circulation of 1.1 million across eight titles. User-Friendly provides its users with a superior product to ensure high use rates by utilizing customer-focused innovations such as large font sizes and helpful community sections.

About Cobalt Ventures
Cobalt Ventures and its affiliates is a globally minded organization that actively invests in operating businesses and develops urban-inspired real estate. Cobalt actively invests in companies with high growth potential that could benefit from an infusion of capital, strategic relationships and experience leading to rapid growth. In addition to its publishing interests, Cobalt's other holdings include a national mortgage banking platform, multiple restaurant franchises, and significant real estate interests.

About Veronis Suhler Stevenson
Veronis Suhler Stevenson is a leading independent merchant bank dedicated to the media, communications and information industries and 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, mezzanine debt 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 154 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