Something to YELL about

Eight years ago, BT's spin-off of directories business YELL marked Europe's largest-ever LBO. Apax Partners and Hicks Muse Tate & Furst (now Lion) paid £2.14bn for the company, shelling out another $600m the following year to bolt on McLeod. While eyebrows were raised over the lofty sums being thrown about, the investors more than doubled their money with a successful IPO in July 2003, fully exiting in January 2004 - less than two years after the initial acquisition