Web site name key in purchase of Henderson firm

Kevin Rademacher

Friday, Nov. 5, 2004 | 11:11 a.m.

State economic development officials are characterizing Thursday's announced sale of Henderson-based YellowPages.com as a possible victory for Southern Nevada.

A joint venture between SBC Communications Inc. and BellSouth Corp. has said it would buy the Internet directory for an undisclosed amount. The deal, the companies said in a statement, would create a company with a combined 50 million monthly consumer searches.

Walt Sharp, a spokesman for SBC, said the site name was a key factor in the decision to buy YellowPages.com.

"It is a marquee name," he said. "That certainly was one -- but not the only one -- of the attractive factors in the acquisition."

The combined directory unit will be headquartered in Pasadena, Calif., Sharp said. Charles Stubbs, an executive with BellSouth's yellow pages operations, will serve as president and chief executive. No YellowPages.com executives were listed in the new unit's senior management ranks, and Sharp said he had no additional information of staffing.

The balance of the company's more than 200 Henderson employees would remain in Nevada. While Sharp would not speculate on any possible staff reduction moves, he said the move could ultimately create additional jobs.

"In the long term, we expect this to be a growth opportunity," Sharp said.

Somer Hollingsworth, chief executive of the Nevada Development Authority, said his organization would pursue the return of the YellowPages.com headquarters from Pasadena.

"I'd like to start working on them to move that over here," he said. "This is where it should be, not in Pasadena."

Bob Shriver, executive director of the Nevada Commission on Economic Development, agreed.

"That just lays down the challenge," Shriver said.

He added that the purchase puts the state in a position to solicit other expansion from SBC and BellSouth.

"Now that they have a presence in your community, it sometimes is an additional incentive to look at other operations," Shriver said.

YellowPages.com. which has its offices at 2280 Corporate Circle, received state incentives to expand its 76-employee workforce by 190 employees in April, state records said. The move was part of a $1.6 million expansion effort.