| VS&A Communications Partners Makes Series of Major Promotions |
Scott J. Troeller Named a General Partner of VS&A Communications Partners III, LP, Firm's $1 Billion Media Buyout Fund
NEW YORK --December 11, 2000-- VS&A Communications Partners, the private equity affiliate of media merchant bank Veronis Suhler, reports that it has made a number of senior promotions. The announcement was made by Jeffrey T. Stevenson, President and Managing General Partner, VS&A Communications Partners.
The moves come on the heels of the recent retirement of S.Gerard Benford, an 11-year veteran of Veronis Suhler and former head of corporate development at Warner Communications. Mr. Benford worked exclusively with Veronis Suhler's private equity unit, serving as General Partner of VS&A Communications Partners II and III, the firm's $330 million and $1 billion media-focused investment funds.
Mr. Stevenson noted that Mr. Benford will continue to serve as a senior advisor to Fund III through the end of 2001. "Gerry kept our bar raised high and his departure sets a good standard for us to follow as we continue to build our Fund III portfolio," he said.
Launched in 1999 with $1 billion in capital, VS&A Communications Partners III, LP ("Fund III") is one of the largest private equity funds focused on media, communications, and information industry investments. Fund III owns portfolio companies include: Hanley-Wood LLC, a leading business-to-business publisher and communications company serving the residential construction industry; HCIA-Sachs, a prominent aggregator of clinical and marketing information for the health care industry; Data Transmission Network (DTN), which provides proprietary news and information services for the energy, financial, agriculture and weather markets; and Phillips Business Information, a full-service business media company known for its trade magazines, conferences and business information services. The Fund also recently announced that it had taken a minority stake in London-based ITE, one of the leading trade show organizers in Europe.
Leading the promotions at VS&A Communications Partners, Scott J. Troeller, has been named a General Partner in Fund III; he previously had been a Fund Principal and before that a Managing Director on the investment banking side of the firm. Mr. Troeller, 32, joined Veronis Suhler as a Director in 1996 from JP Morgan, where he worked on mergers and acquisitions in Morgan's media department. Among other transactions, Mr. Troeller played key roles in the acquisitions of Data Transmission Network (DTN) and The Official Information Company, both Fund portfolio companies. "Scott has been an invaluable asset to our merchant banking operations, both from a transaction perspective but also because of the level of insight he has brought to our portfolio companies - we are pleased to have him as a full partner in our private equity operations," Mr. Stevenson said. He noted several other key new assignments taking place:
| » |
James P. Rutherfurd has become a Senior Principal in Fund III, this in addition to his role as head of investment banking operations at Veronis Suhler. Mr. Rutherfurd, 43, joined Veronis Suhler in 1999 from JP Morgan, where he was co-head of Morgan's media group. He was previously a director in CS First Boston's Media Group, having formerly been a corporate lawyer at Rogers & Wells in New York. Mr. Rutherfurd has helped close more than $25 billion in media industry transactions, across all major segments of the industry. As a Senior Principal, he will help originate deal flow for Fund III leveraging the firm's resources and vast industry relationships.
|
| » |
Nigel J. Stapleton, who recently became Chairman and co-Head of Veronis, Suhler International Ltd., the firm's new London-based affiliate, has joined the Executive Committee of Veronis Suhler, and has been named a Senior Principal in Fund III. Mr. Stapleton, 53, has had a distinguished career in the publishing industry, having served as co-chief executive of Reed Elsevier, Europe's largest publishing and information company. He also served as co-chairman of Reed and was previously its chief financial officer.
|
| » |
John R. Sinatra also joins the Executive Committee and has become a Senior Principal in Fund III. Mr. Sinatra, 44, has been Veronis Suhler's chief financial officer since 1996. He previously served for 10 years as controller at James D. Wolfensohn, where he also tracked the firm's venture capital and leveraged buyout funds. Mr. Sinatra is a CPA with broad experience in accounting/control, internal and external regulatory reporting, risk management and operational analysis.
|
| » |
Hal R. Greenberg, a longtime Managing Director in the business information services and specialty media group for Veronis Suhler's investment bank, joins Fund III as a Principal. Mr. Greenberg, 48, has completed more than 80 transactions for the firm and has been active in private equity activities since Fund I. He has been involved in the acquisition and portfolio management of Canon Communications (a Fund II company), and also worked on acquisitions by Chemical Week Associates. Mr. Greenberg joined Veronis Suhler in 1988 from McGraw-Hill, where he was director of planning and acquisitions; he previously spent ten years in the Broadcast Group at CBS.
|
| » |
Kevin S. Waldman, 30, who joined Veronis Suhler as an associate in 1997 from JP Morgan's Media Group, has joined Fund III full-time as a Director. Mr. Waldman has represented VS&A Communications Partners in a number of transactions, including the sale of Triax (a Fund II company) to Medicaom for $740 million, the sale of Spectrum (Fund II) for $45 million, and the equity financing ionex telecommunications (Fund III). Mr. Waldman is expected to help expand Fund III's portfolio even more in the telecom sector.
|
For more background on VS&A Communications Partners, visit www.vss.com
| Contact: |
Allan Ripp |
|
David Hillstrom |
|
Kerry Ann Murphy, for VS&A Communications Partners |
|
