TELUS Sells Directory Information Services Business to Verizon

On July 31, 2001, TELUS Corporation sold its directory information services business to Verizon Information Services Inc. Verizon is the world’s largest yellow pages and online directory provider. The transaction was effected by way of a purchase and sale of assets and included an initial 30-year publishing agreement and rights to the information services space on TELUS’s Internet portal network. The purchase price was $810 million.

TELUS was led by in-house counsel, Audrey Ho, Andras Vagvolgyi, Kevin Doyle and Ralph Davis. They instructed a team from Bennett Jones LLP, through its Calgary and Toronto offices, which included Doug Foster, Bryan Haynes and Beth Riley (corporate/commercial), Jim Smeltzer and George Wowk (intellectual property), Mike Ryer, Stan Ebel and Brent Jay (tax), John Batzel (employment), Doug Ast and Chris Brown (pensions) and John Lowe (regulatory).

Verizon was led by in-house counsel, Terrence Leve, Sr., who instructed a team from the Toronto office of Stikeman Elliott, which included Simon Romano, Andrea Alliston, Shawn Neylan and Orysia Semotiuk, Greg Kane from the firm’s Ottawa office and Glenn Cameron from the Calgary office.