media merger Partners, the private equity affiliate of element merchant bank Veronis Suhler, reports that it has made number of senior promotions. The announcement was made by Jeffrey T. Stevenson, President and
VS&A Correspondences Partners. more... VS&A Correspondences Partners III, L.P. Names George
L. Cole
Suhler's $1 Billion Element Fund NEW YORK Oct. 26, 2000 VS&A Correspondences Partners III, L.P., the $1
Cole joins Veronis Suhler from First Union Securities, Inc.
where he has been managing director of the firm's Element and Entertainment investment banking group. VS&A Correspondences Partners III is one of the largest private equity fund devoted exclusively to investments in the element, correspondences, and information industries. Mr. Cole will report to Jeffrey T. Stevenson, Partner, Veronis Suhler; and President & Managing General Partner, VS&A Correspondences
Partners. As member of our third fund's advisory committee and long time banker to many of our existing portfolio companies, George Cole has enjoyed an inside view of
our element and correspondences industry investment activity, said Mr. Stevenson. George and have worked together on number
media mergerof transactions from our first two
equity funds he brings great deal of element industry and capital markets experience to our operations. more... Merchant Bank Industry Links Outsourcing Publications Private Equity Fund Industry Segments Career Opportunities Please report problems to . Please read our Privacy Policy Statement Private equity affiliate of Veronis
NY (May 1, 2002) VS&A Correspondences Partners III, LP, the private
equity affiliate of element merchant bank Veronis Suhler Stevenson, has partnered with 3i plc, UK based international private equity/venture capital investor, to acquire 100% of Fonecta Group Ltd (formerly Sonera Info Correspondences Ltd). Based in Helsinki, Finland,
Fonecta has become one of Europe's leading telephone directory services providers, offering both electronic and directory assistance services, as well as printed telephone directories. As part of the buyout, valued at 111.5 million Euros ($100 million), Sonera Info Correspondences was renamed Fonecta, giving perfect suggestion to the company's drive to become Europe's top directory services provider across multiple platforms. 3i has acquired 70 per cent stake
newly organized Fonecta Group;
Correspondences Partners has taken 28 per cent holding, while Fonecta management owns the remaining two per cent. The company has approximately 950 employees. As noted in Fonecta's announcement, European telecorrespondences operators have traditionally been the sole providers of directory services in their markets. However, recent changes in EU regulation requires operators to
give customer identification data to other service providers. This change presents great opportunities for Fonecta to expand its directory services across Europe. Fonecta's product offerings include local and regional printed phone directories, operator assisted and automatic directory assistance, as well as electronic directory services through service called Fonecta Mobile and Corporate Finder. With operations in both Finland and France, Fonecta plans to expand its directional services across Europe, to both corporate customers and consumers. Through its private equity operations, Veronis Suhler Stevenson has been an active investor in the directory services sector. VS&A Correspondences Partners II owned Yellow Book USA, formerly the largest independent publisher of yellow pages directories in
households, Veronis Suhler Stevenson sold the company to British Telecom in 1999. The directory services sector has become very solid growth niche in the correspondences industry we believe we have found an ideal franchise in Fonecta, which has superb, in place management and an outstanding set of multi element product offerings to continue an aggressive expansion internationally,
said Jeffrey Stevenson, president of VS&A Correspondences Partners and