Investors in Hibu now have very little to yell about

Yellow Pages still makes profits of about £300m
Yellow Pages still makes profits of about £300m
STEWART WILLIAMS

Shares in Hibu, the publisher of Yellow Pages formerly known as Yell Group, almost halved today as it became apparent that the group’s long-suffering shareholders faced being wiped out.

Lenders to the British directories group have finalised a steering committee to lead restructuring talks on the company’s £2.2 billion debt.

Alcentra, GE Capital, Gruss Asset Management, Blackstone’s credit asset manager GSO, Royal Bank of Scotland and Soros Fund Management are the lenders making up the committee, according to a person close to the company’s restructuring.

The committee has hired Houlihan Lokey, a US investment bank, to advise on a debt-for-equity swap and Linklaters as legal advisor.

This would almost certainly mean that investors would end up with very little value. The shares, which traded at