Veronis Suhler Stevenson, or VSS is a private equity firm

Private equity firm

A private equity firm is an investment manager that makes investments in the private equity of operating companies through a variety of loosely affiliated investment strategies including leveraged buyout, venture capital, and growth capital...

 whose investments are exclusively concentrated in the Media industry and related sectors including information, education, marketing services and business services. Founded in 1981, VSS manages a number of private equity fund

Private equity fund

A private equity fund is a collective investment scheme used for making investments in various equity securities according to one of the investment strategies associated with private equity....

s for strategic buyout

Buyout

A buyout, in finance, is an investment transaction by which the ownership equity of a company, or a majority share of the stock of the company is acquired. The acquiror thereby "buys out" control of the target company....

s and structured growth

Growth capital

Growth capital is a type of private equity investment, most often a minority investment, in relatively mature companies that are looking for capital to expand or restructure operations, enter new markets or finance a significant acquisition without a change of control of the business.Companies...

 or mezzanine capital

Mezzanine capital

Mezzanine capital, in finance, refers to a subordinated debt or preferred equity instrument that represents a claim on a company's assets which is senior only to that of the common shares...

 investments, in mid-range companies operating in the information, education

Education

Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...

, media, marketing services, and business services sectors of North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

 and Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

.

VSS has headquarters based in New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

, and has offices in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 where it operates as Veronis Suhler Stevenson International Ltd.

Corporate history

The company was founded as Veronis, Suhler & Associates (VS&A) in 1981, by John J. Veronis and John S. Suhler. Veronis had been co-founder of Psychology Today

Psychology Today

Psychology Today is a bi-monthly magazine published in the United States. It is a psychology-based magazine about relationships, health, and related topics written for a mass audience of non-psychologists. Psychology Today was founded in 1967 and features articles on such topics as love,...

magazine and its associated enterprises, and Suhler was a former president of CBS Publishing Group

CBS

CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...

. Jeffrey T. Stevenson joined the company the following year, and became a named partner in 2001. There are five partners altogether in the senior management structure, and the company employs more than 50 staff across its two offices.

Investment and buyout activities

VSS's portfolio of equity and capital funds have been invested in more than 65 companies, resulting in over 300 mergers, add-ons and acquisitions

Mergers and acquisitions

Mergers and acquisitions refers to the aspect of corporate strategy, corporate finance and management dealing with the buying, selling, dividing and combining of different companies and similar entities that can help an enterprise grow rapidly in its sector or location of origin, or a new field or...

 transactions. Current and former platform company investments for VSS include Infobase Publishing

Infobase Publishing

Infobase Publishing is an American publisher of reference book titles and textbooks geared towards the North American library, secondary school, and university-level curriculum markets. The company was founded in 1941 with its headquarters based in New York...

, Kansas Broadcasting System, ITE Group

ITE Group

ITE Group plc is a leading British-based organiser of exhibitions and conferences. It focuses on Russia and other emerging markets. It is headquartered in London and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.-History:...

, Granada Learning, CSC Media Group, Cambium Learning Group, and Yellow Book USA. VSS management of equity and mezzanine investment funds commenced from 1987, and in that year completed some 25 media company deals at a value totalling over . By 2006 VSS investment funds managed commitments over .

In 2005, VSS partnered with Mecom Group

Mecom Group

Mecom Group plc is a newspaper publishing company headquartered in London, United Kingdom.It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index until 22 December 2008, when it became one of three media companies to fall out of the index.-History:The company was...

—an investment company

Investment company

An investment company is a company whose main business is holding securities of other companies purely for investment purposes. The investment company invests money on behalf of its shareholders who in turn share in the profits and losses....

 headed by former Mirror Group chief executive David Montgomery

David Montgomery (newspaper executive)

David Montgomery is a British newspaper editor, executive, proprietor and media investor....

—to acquire Berliner Verlag, the publisher of German daily newspapers Berliner Zeitung

Berliner Zeitung

The Berliner Zeitung, founded in 1945, is a German center-left daily newspaper based in Berlin, published by Berliner Verlag. It is the only East German paper to achieve national prominence since unification. In 2003, the Berliner was Berlin's largest subscription newspaper—the weekend...

and Berliner Kurier

Berliner Kurier

The Berliner Kurier is a regional, daily newspaper published by the Berliner Verlag GmbH for the Berlin metropolitan area in Germany....

, among other titles. This acquisition, of a company valued at £53m from the former owners Holtzbrinck, represented the first foreign takeover of a German daily newspaper.

Media industry publications

In addition to its investment and recapitalization portfolios, VSS also conducts and publishes research data on financing & statistics, forecasts and industry trends for the media, publishing and communications sector. It produces two widely consulted American media industry periodicals, Communications Industry Forecast and Communications Industry Report .

External links

• Veronis Suhler Stevenson corporate website