-----BEGIN PRIVACY-ENHANCED MESSAGE----- Proc-Type: 2001,MIC-CLEAR Originator-Name: webmaster@www.sec.gov Originator-Key-Asymmetric: MFgwCgYEVQgBAQICAf8DSgAwRwJAW2sNKK9AVtBzYZmr6aGjlWyK3XmZv3dTINen TWSM7vrzLADbmYQaionwg5sDW3P6oaM5D3tdezXMm7z1T+B+twIDAQAB MIC-Info: RSA-MD5,RSA, FVQSgJipkZkekuvCVTz+4syRs/0ycjOAM0TE6BQzKFtlmpemZvvmH9LNNS+DY9wS tIRrvyYrrIuPI8Lbxx99Hw== 0000906318-07-000046.txt : 20070319 0000906318-07-000046.hdr.sgml : 20070319 20070319154744 ACCESSION NUMBER: 0000906318-07-000046 CONFORMED SUBMISSION TYPE: 10-K PUBLIC DOCUMENT COUNT: 1 CONFORMED PERIOD OF REPORT: 20061231 FILED AS OF DATE: 20070319 DATE AS OF CHANGE: 20070319 FILER: COMPANY DATA: COMPANY CONFORMED NAME: CBD MEDIA LLC CENTRAL INDEX KEY: 0001253808 STANDARD INDUSTRIAL CLASSIFICATION: MISCELLANEOUS PUBLISHING [2741] IRS NUMBER: 020553288 STATE OF INCORPORATION: DE FILING VALUES: FORM TYPE: 10-K SEC ACT: 1934 Act SEC FILE NUMBER: 333-107783 FILM NUMBER: 07703346 BUSINESS ADDRESS: STREET 1: 312 PLUM STREET CITY: CINCINNATI STATE: OH ZIP: 45202 10-K 1 cbdmedia10k031607.htm UNITED STATES

UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549


FORM 10-K

 

 

[X]

ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2006

 

 
 

OR

 

 

[   ]

TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

Commission File Number:333-107783

CBD MEDIA LLC

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

 

 

DELAWARE

 

02-0553288

(State or other jurisdiction of

 

(I.R.S. Employer

incorporation or organization)

 

Identification Number)

 

  

312 PLUM STREET, SUITE 900

 

45202

CINCINNATI, OHIO

 

(Zip Code)

(Address of principal executive offices)

  

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (513) 397-6794

SECURITIES REGISTERED PURSUANT TO SECTION 12(b) AND 12 (g) OF THE ACT:

TITLE OF CLASS

 

NAME OF EXCHANGE ON WHICH REGISTERED

N/A

 

N/A

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.            [  ] Yes  [X] No



1





Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act.                                          [  ]Yes  [X] No

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.                      [X] Yes         [  ] No


Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K (section 229.405 of this chapter) is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of the registrant's knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K.     [X]


Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, or a non-accelerated filer. See definition of “accelerated filer and large accelerated filer” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):  

[  ] Large accelerated filer          [  ] Accelerated filer          [X] Non-accelerated filer


Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act).

                                                 [  ] Yes         [X] No


The registrant does not have any voting or non-voting common equity held by non-affiliates.  



2





CBD MEDIA LLC
FORM 10-K
TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Page

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PART I

 

 

 

 

ITEM 1

 

Business

 

 

4

 

ITEM 1A

 

Risk Factors

  

18

 

ITEM 1B

 

Unresolved Staff Comments

  

22

 

ITEM 2

 

Properties

 

 

22

 

ITEM 3

 

Legal Proceedings

 

 

22

 

ITEM 4

 

Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders

 

 

23

 
 

 

PART II

 

 

  

ITEM 5

 

Market for Registrant’s Common Stock and Related Stockholder Matters

 

 

23

 

ITEM 6

 

Selected Financial Data

 

 

23

 

ITEM 7

 

Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

 

 

24

 

ITEM 7A

 

Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosure about Market Risk

 

 

34

 

ITEM 8

 

Financial Statements and Supplementary Data

 

 

34

 

ITEM 9

 

Changes in and Disagreements With Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure

 

 

34

 

ITEM 9A

 

Controls and Procedures

  

34

 

ITEM 9B

 

Other information

  

35

 
 

 

PART III

 

 

  

ITEM 10

 

Directors and Executive Officers of CBD Media LLC

 

 

35

 

ITEM 11

 

Executive Compensation

 

 

36

 

ITEM 12

 

Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management

 

 

41

 

ITEM 13

 

Certain Relationships and Related Transactions

 

 

43

 

ITEM 14

 

Principal Accountant Fees and Services

 

 

44

 
 

 

PART IV

 

 

  

ITEM 15

 

Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules

 

 

45

 

  

 

Signatures

 

 

47

 




3





PART I

This annual report on Form 10-K contains certain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. The actual future results for CBD Media LLC may differ materially from those discussed herein. Additional information concerning factors that could cause or contribute to such differences can be found in Part II, Item 7 entitled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” and elsewhere throughout this Annual Report.

As used herein, unless the context otherwise requires:

·

“CBD Media,” “we,” “us,” “our” or other similar terms refers to the business of CBD Media LLC;

·

“CBD Holdings” refers to CBD Media Holdings LLC, the parent of CBD Media LLC;

·

“Cincinnati Bell Inc.” refers to Cincinnati Bell Inc., which was known as Broadwing Inc. prior to a corporate name change effective May 27, 2003.

ITEM 1. BUSINESS

Recent Development

On December 12, 2006 Local Insight Media, LLC (“Local Insight”) and CBD Media announced the execution of a definitive agreement to combine their businesses.

Under the agreement, 100% of the membership interest of CBD Media’s parent, CBD Holdings,  will be contributed to Local Insight.  CBD Media Holdings is owned by affiliates of Spectrum Equity Investors (“Spectrum”), an affiliate of Cincinnati Bell Inc. and members of CBD Media’s management.  Local Insight is a portfolio company of Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe (“WCAS”).  Upon consummation of the transaction, WCAS will own a majority of Local Insight and the current owners of CBD Media Holdings will retain a minority stake of approximately 29%.  The combined company will have consolidated annual revenues in excess of $225 million.

Upon closing, CBD Media, the leading publisher of print and online directories in the Greater Cincinnati area, will be operated as a wholly owned, indirect subsidiary of Local Insight.  CBD Media will continue to publish print directories under the Cincinnati Bell Yellow Pages brand and offer online search services at www.CincinnatiBellYellowPages.com.

The transaction, which is subject to regulatory approval and other closing conditions, is expected to close in the first quarter of 2007.

CBD Media

We are the ninth largest directory publisher in the United States based on 2006 revenue. We are the exclusive directory publisher for Cincinnati Bell branded yellow pages in the Cincinnati-Hamilton metropolitan area, which is the 23rd  largest metropolitan area in the country according to the 2000 U.S. Census. We believe our directories captured an 86% share of the 2006 total directory advertising spending in the Cincinnati-Hamilton metropolitan area. In 2006, we published fifteen yellow pages directories and distributed 2.4 million yellow pages directories to businesses and residences. We also offer integrated internet-based directory services to our consumers through the cincinnatibellyellowpages.com web site. In addition, we publish the white pages for Cincinnati Bell Telephone, the incumbent local exchange carrier in the Cincinnati-Hamilton metropolitan area for over 100 years, for whom we distributed 1.0 million copies in 2006. We generate ou r revenues primarily through the sale of advertising, and in 2006 had over 16,000 local advertising customers consisting primarily of small and medium-sized businesses, as well as approximately 1,200 national advertisers. For the twelve months ended December 31, 2006, our revenue was $86.5 million.  All measures of profits and total assets for CBD Media may be found in the Company’s financial statements included in this Form 10-K.  The Index to Financial Statements is located on page F-1.

We acquired our directory publishing business in March 2002 from Cincinnati Bell Inc., the owner and operator of Cincinnati Bell Telephone. As a part of this acquisition, we received an exclusive, royalty-free license to use the name “Cincinnati Bell Directory” to conduct our directory publishing business in the Cincinnati-Hamilton



4





metropolitan area until March 2022. In addition, Cincinnati Bell Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates are contractually prohibited from competing with us in the directory publication business in the Cincinnati-Hamilton metropolitan area until March 2012.

The U.S. directory advertising industry has experienced stable and consistent revenue growth, with revenues for the industry increasing from approximately $5.8 billion in 1985 to approximately $15.8 billion in 2005, representing a compounded annual growth rate of approximately 5.1% for the period. We believe that print directories are, in many cases, the primary forms of advertising used by small and medium-sized businesses and are one of the most resilient forms of advertising in economic downturns. In addition, we believe that the annual publication cycle and the priority placement given to existing advertisers result in high customer retention rates by directory publishers even during poor economic times. During the last two recessions beginning in 1991 and 2001, the U.S. directory advertising industry experienced positive growth in spending, while other major forms of advertising media, including radio, television and newspaper, experienced spending declines< B>.

Competitive Strengths

Dominant local market position.    We have superior printed directory usage and possession statistics in the Cincinnati-Hamilton metropolitan area. According to a 2006 study prepared for us by the University of Cincinnati, we are the preferred yellow pages directory of 90% of the population of the Greater Cincinnati metropolitan area and have residential and business possession rates of  94%. We believe these usage statistics are, in part, responsible for our high advertiser satisfaction rates (5 year average of 68.2% - top 2 boxes of “Excellent/Very Good”), as well as our average local advertiser retention rate of over 83.6% in the last five years, which we believe is the highest in our market and compares favorably to other directories published under the local exchange carrier brand nationwide. We expect that Cincinnati Bell Telephone’s established market position and strong brand name will allow us to sustain our market share, maintain high usage trends for our directories and attract additional high-quality advertisers in the future.

Powerful brand name.    In 2002, we entered into a twenty-year agreement with Cincinnati Bell Inc. that allows us to use the widely-recognized Cincinnati Bell name to market our directory products. The Cincinnati Bell brand has been in existence for over 100 years and its high regard among our consumers is evidenced by Cincinnati Bell Telephone’s receipt of the J.D. Power and Associates 2001 and 2002 awards for both Local Residential Telephone Customer Satisfaction-Mainstream Users and Residential Long Distance Customer Satisfaction-Mainstream Users, as well as the award for the Highest Overall Satisfaction Among Wireless Telephone Users in Cincinnati in 2002. Cincinnati Bell Telephone’s local ranking represents J.D. Power’s highest award for all local telephone companies in the United States. We believe our strategic relationship with Cincinnati Bell Telephone affords us brand recognition as the incumbent yellow pages pr ovider and gives us a significant competitive advantage compared with directory publishers in our market that are not associated with the Cincinnati Bell brand.

Efficient operating model.    We utilize select strategic partners, whom we believe are among the best operators in their respective industries, to provide sales, printing, distribution and billing support under long-term contracts. This business model allows us to realize best-in-industry service and cost efficiencies that directly contribute to our operating and free cash flow margins, which we believe are among the highest in the directory publishing industry. We are able to leverage our partners’ expertise and national experience, thereby minimizing ongoing capital expenditures and allowing our management to concentrate its focus on the strategic management of our business. We also believe that we are a significant customer of each of our key partners, which we believe enhances the quality of services that we receive.

Strong financial profile.    Our business has been characterized by consistent revenue growth and high operating margins. Our revenue has increased since 1993, from approximately $58.7 million in 1993 to approximately $86.5 million in 2006, resulting in a compounded annual growth rate of approximately 3%. The stability of our financial results is driven by (i) our directory advertising sales, which are presold through one-year contracts typically paid on a monthly basis; (ii) our collection rate during the year ended December 31, 2006 of approximately 95% of gross accounts receivable, which we believe compares favorably to the collection rates of both other directories published under the local exchange carrier brand and independent directory publishers; (iii) our high advertising retention rates from existing customers, which have averaged over 80% over the last five years; and (iv) the fact that 85% of our operating expenses are tied to contracts with strategic partners and tend to be correlated with our revenue.



5





Favorable cash flow characteristics.    Our business has strong cash flow characteristics due to the combination of our consistent revenue, strong operating margins, high collection rates, low capital expenditures, minimal working capital requirements, limited corporate overhead and a favorable tax position resulting from our acquisition from Cincinnati Bell Inc. in 2002. The timing of our cash inflows throughout the year is also predictable, as our customers typically pay for their advertisements in our directories in twelve equal monthly installments.

Attractive market demographics.    We believe that the Cincinnati-Hamilton metropolitan area has a growing economy, a stable base of employment and a high percentage of service-based businesses. We believe service-based businesses, as an industry group, are more favorably disposed to advertise in yellow pages directories. Economic growth in the Cincinnati-Hamilton metropolitan area tends to follow national averages very well but has been slower to rebound in this business cycle.  Local Gross Regional Product (GRP) is estimated to be 3.4% in 2006 compared to a 3.7% increase in real Gross Domestic Product (GDP).  The 2006 unemployment rate for the Cincinnati-Hamilton metropolitan area is estimated at 5.2%, slightly above the projected national unemployment rate of 4.7%.  Business services employment has seen the strongest growth, rising to more than 7%.  In addition, the Cincinnati area boasts a top ten ranking in numb er of Fortune 500 firms per million residents.   

Diverse customer base.    We have a large, diversified yellow pages customer base. In 2006, we served more than 16,000 local and approximately 1,200 national advertisers through our fifteen yellow pages directories. We believe that the significance of the directory advertising medium to these customers, along with the diversity of our customer base, mitigates the effect of downturns in the economy or any individual sector of the economy on our business as our operations are not dependent on any one particular advertiser or industry segment. In 2006, no single advertiser represented more than 0.6% of our revenue and our largest topical directory heading accounted for only 6.3% of our total revenue. In addition, in 2006, our top ten topical directory headings accounted for approximately 27% of total revenue.

Significant value for our target advertisers.    We believe that directory advertising provides significant value to our customers and a value greater than that created by advertising in most other major forms of media. The 2.4 million yellow pages directories that were distributed to businesses and residences in 2006 represent a broad spectrum of potential users and, in turn, offer our advertisers significant local reach. Directory advertising is also directional in nature, which means consumers typically use directories immediately before making a purchase, creating a meaningful value for advertisers in the directory. As a result, according to CRM Associates, it was estimated that in 2002 directory advertising produced a higher median return on investment ($51 for every $1 spent) than advertising in most other major forms of media, including newspapers ($34), radio ($19), magazines ($17) and television ($10).

Experienced management team.    Our current management team has over 50 years combined experience with our business, with an average of approximately fourteen years of experience each. Our President and Chief Executive Officer, Douglas A. Myers, has worked at our business for the past eighteen years in a variety of positions prior to being appointed to his current role in 1999. John P. Schwing, our Chief Financial Officer, and David D. Miller, our Vice President of Sales and Operations, have served in senior management roles with us for the past thirteen and seventeen years, respectively. The senior management’s relationships with the strategic partners involved in CBD Media’s operations are well-established and long-standing. In addition, each member of our senior management has an equity interest in our business.

Business Strategy

Increase revenue from existing local customer base.    We have historically achieved annual revenue growth by selling additional advertising or services to our existing local customer base of more than 16,000 local customers, comprised primarily of small to medium-sized service businesses. By offering a larger ad display, color text instead of black and white, improved display placement under a heading, a wide variety of specialty product offerings such as directory spine and back-cover advertising, and a full complement of Internet Yellow Pages offerings we have been successful in generating higher average revenue per customer over time, the key focus of our sales force.

Expand product offerings and value-added services.    We provide small and medium-sized businesses with a fully-integrated solution for their directory advertising needs. For many of our local advertisers, printed yellow pages advertising has historically been their primary or only means of advertising. Only 39% of our print customers currently advertise using our internet directory advertising site, cincinnatibellyellowpages.com. We have fully



6





integrated this website advertising offering in our local sales channel and have begun providing a bundled advertising product consisting of print and internet advertising to our customers. We believe that as the percentage of our customer base using our internet directory advertising products increases, we will be able to generate incremental revenue from these products. We are introducing additional advertising opportunities in our print directory product, such as the “Companion” directory, which we expect will also allow us to generate additional incremental revenue from our customer base.

Leverage strategic partnerships.    Our unique partnership-based business model allows us to generate operating margins which we believe, based on publicly available information, are among the highest in the directory publishing industry and allows our management team to focus on strategic growth. We will continue to use these partnerships to generate continued revenue growth while maintaining our strong operational margins. We believe that our selection of industry-leading strategic partners and our value to these partners has allowed us to achieve favorable operating results while avoiding significant capital expenditures and limiting corporate overhead.

Industry

Directory advertising competes with all other forms of media advertising, including television, radio, newspapers, the internet, billboards and direct mail. The entire U.S. advertising market was estimated to be $197.2 billion in 2005, with directory advertising capturing an approximate 8.0% share of the advertising market. Unlike other forms of advertising, directory advertising is characterized as primarily directional advertising (which refers to advertising targeted at consumers who are actively seeking information and are prepared to purchase a product or service). Historically, the U.S. directory advertising industry has been dominated by the large publishing businesses of regional Bell operating companies, or RBOCs, and other incumbent local telephone companies.

Directory advertising market size

It is estimated that the U.S. directory advertising industry (Print and On-line Yellow Pages) generated sales of approximately $15.8 billion in 2005. The industry is characterized by steady and consistent growth with advertising spending increasing at a 2.8%, 4.9% and 3.9% compounded annual growth rate over the last five, ten and fifteen years, respectively. The following chart depicts the estimated size and growth of the U.S. directory advertising industry since 1985:

U.S. directory advertising: 1985 - 2005

Year

Growth

Spending

 

    (Dollars in billions)

1985………………………......

   —

 $5.8

1986………………………......

12.1

%

 6.5

1987………………………......

12.3

 

7.3

1988………………………......

6.6

 

7.8

1989………………………......

7.1

 

8.3

1990………………………......

7.2

 

8.9

1991………………………......

2.9

 

9.2

1992………………………......

1.5

 

9.3

1993………………………......

2.1

 

9.5

1994………………………......

3.2

 

9.8

1995………………………......

4.6

 

10.2

1996………………………......

4.8

 

10.7

1997………………………......

5.8

 

11.4

1998………………………......

6.5

 

12.1

1999………………………......

9.1

 

13.2*

2000………………………......

6.8

 

14.1*

2001………………………......

5.4

 

14.9*

2002………………………......

1.0

 

15.1*

2003………………………......

(0.1)

 

15.0*

2004…………………………..

2.7

 

15.4*

2005…………………………..

2.3

 

15.8*



7





__________

Source: Veronis Suhler Stevenson, Communications Industry Forecasts, July 1997 and 2006 editions.  


*Reported Yellow Pages Advertising revenue includes revenue from Publisher’s Print and Internet yellow pages operations, and other Pure Play Internet yellow pages.

 

Local versus national advertising

While directory advertising is sold on both a local and national basis, local advertising from small and medium-sized businesses constitutes the majority of directory advertising spending. As shown in the table below, in 2005, local directory advertising (including internet advertising of local customers) constituted approximately 82.7% of total spending for the U.S. directory advertising industry. This is consistent with our experience, where for the period from January 1, 2006 to December 31, 2006, local advertising (including internet advertising by local customers) accounted for approximately 83.9% of our total revenue.

Local versus national U.S. directory advertising: 2000 - 2005

 

 

     

2000

  

% of
total

  

2001

  

% of
total

  

2002

  

% of
total

  

2003

  

% of
total

  

2004

  

% of
total

2005

% of

total

CAGR

‘00-‘05

 

 

 

(Dollars in billions)

 

Local

 

     

 

$

11.8

  

84.1

%

 

$

12.4

  

84.1

%

 

$

12.4

  

83.6

%

 

$

12.3

  

83.0%

   

$12.5

 

  

80.0%

$12.8

82.7%

  

% growth yearly

 

    

 

 

 

6.9

%

     

5.5

%

     

0.3

%

     

(1.5%)

      

2.0%

 

  

 

2.1%

 

1.6%

 

National

 

     

 

$

2.2

  

15.9

%

 

$

2.4

  

15.9

%

 

$

2.4

  

16.4

%

 

$

2.5

  

17.0%

   

$2.6

 

  

20.0%

$2.6

17.3%

  

% growth yearly

 

    

 

 

 

7.7

%

 

 

   

5.4

%

 

 

   

3.4

%

 

 

   

3.0%

  

 

   

4.2%

 

  

 

2.4%

 

3.4%

 

 

 

     

 

                               

  

     

Total

 

     

 

$

14.0

  

100.0

%

 

$

14.8

  

100.0

%

 

$

14.8

  

100.0

%

 

$

14.8

  

100.0%

   

$15.1

 

  

100.0%

$15.4

100.0%

1.9%

 

% growth yearly

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

7.0

%

     

5.4

%

     

0.8

%

     

(0.8%)

      

2.4%

 

  

 

2.1%

  

 



Source: Veronis Suhler Stevenson, Communications Industry Forecast, July 2006.

(1) Includes the directory advertising revenues of Directory Publishers’ Print and Internet operations (excludes Pure-Play Internet Yellow Pages).  

Competition within the industry

Presently, the industry can be divided into two major groups of directory advertising publishers: the directory businesses of RBOCs and other incumbent local telephone companies such as Cincinnati Bell Telephone, referred to as Incumbent Publishers, and independent publishers such as TransWestern Publishing Company LLC, and the U.S. business of Yell Group Ltd. and McLeodUSA Media Group Inc. (which has been acquired by Yell Group Ltd.), referred to as Independent Publishers. Fueled by the Telecommunications Act of 1996, which assured access to telephone subscriber listings at nominal rates, and significant private equity investment, Independent Publishers have begun to consolidate and increase their market share. As shown in the table below, the Independent Publishers’ revenues have increased over the last five years, yet the Incumbent Publishers remain the dominant players, with an estimated 80% share of total 2005 revenue for the U.S. directory advertising industry.



8





U.S. directory market share: 2000 – 2005

 

  

2000

  

% of
total

  

2001

  

% of
total

  

2002

  

% of
total

  

2003

  

% of
total

  

2004

% of total

2005

% of
total

 

  

(Dollars in billions)

Incumbent publishers(1)

  

$

12.3

  

87.9

%

 

$

12.9

  

87.2

%

 

$

12.8

  

86.1

%

 

$

12.4

  

84.0%

   

$12.4

81.9%

$12.3

  

% growth yearly

   

4.9

%

     

4.6

%

     

(0.6%)

      

(3.2%)

      

(0.1%)

 

(0.3%)

80.0%

 

Independent publishers

  

$

1.7

  

12.1

%

 

$

1.9

  

12.8

%

 

$

2.0

  

13.9

%

 

$

2.4

  

16.0%

   

$2.7

18.1%

$3.1

  

% growth yearly

   

25.2

%

 

 

   

12.0

%

 

 

   

10.0%

  

 

   

14.1%

  

 

   

15.4%

 

13.4%

20.0%

 

 

                                    

Total

  

$

14.0

  

100.0

%

 

$

14.8

  

100.0

%

 

$

14.8

  

100.0

%

 

$

14.8

  

100.0%

   

$15.1

100.0%

$15.4

100.0%

 

% growth yearly

   

7.0

%

     

5.4

%

     

0.8%

      

(0.8%)

      

2.4%

 

2.1%

 

 

__________

Source: Veronis Suhler Stevenson, Communications Industry Forecast, July 2006.


(1) Includes the directory advertising revenues of Directory Publishers’ Print and Internet operations (excludes Pure-Play Internet Yellow Pages).  

We believe that Incumbent Publishers maintain higher margins than their Independent Publisher competitors due to their affiliation with the incumbent local telephone service provider, highly recognized brand names, established consumer usage, broader distribution, wider geographic coverage and long-term advertiser relationships. Given these advantages, Independent Publishers are forced to compete primarily on price, with advertising rates that are significantly lower than the rates for equivalent products listed by Incumbent Publishers. As a result, Independent Publishers typically have substantially lower EBITDA margins than Incumbent Publishers.

Competition with other media

We believe that one of the most compelling aspects of yellow pages directories is their ability to weather economic downturns more favorably than other forms of advertising. For example, during the last two recessions, beginning in 1991 and 2001, yellow pages directory advertising was one of the only media segments to show revenue growth. As the table below highlights, U.S. directory advertising industry spending increased 2.9% and 5.4% in 1991 and 2001, respectively, while other major media segments declined.

Advertising spending by media category: 1990 - 2005

Year

 

U.S.
Directories
(2)

 

Spending
Growth

  

Television(1)

 

Spending
Growth

  

Broadcast & Satellite Radio

 

Spending

Growth

  

Newspaper

 

Spending
Growth

 

 

  

(Dollars in billions)

 

1990…………………

  

$

8.9

  

 

 

$

29.2

  

 

 

$

8.7

  

 

 

$

35.6

  

 

1991…………………

  

 

9.2

  

2.9

%

 

 

28.3

  

(2.8

)%

 

 

8.5

  

(2.9

)%

 

 

33.6

  

(5.7

)%

1992…………………

  

 

9.3

  

1.5

 

 

 

30.5

  

7.8

 

 

 

8.7

  

2.1

 

 

 

33.9

  

1.0

 

1993…………………

  

 

9.5

  

2.1

 

 

 

31.9

  

4.4

 

 

 

9.5

  

9.3

 

 

 

35.4

  

4.4

 

1994…………………

  

 

9.8

  

3.2

 

 

 

35.7

  

12.0

 

 

 

10.5

  

11.3

 

 

 

38.1

  

7.7

 

1995…………………

  

 

10.2

  

4.6

 

 

 

37.6

  

5.1

 

 

 

11.3

  

7.5

 

 

 

40.3

  

5.7

 

1996…………………

  

 

10.7

  

4.8

 

 

 

40.7

  

8.4

 

 

 

12.3

  

8.4

 

 

 

42.6

  

5.8

 

1997…………………

  

 

11.4

  

5.8

 

 

 

42.8

  

5.0

 

 

 

13.5

  

10.0

 

 

 

46.3

  

8.6

 

1998…………………

  

 

12.1

  

6.5

 

 

 

46.4

  

8.6

 

 

 

15.4

  

14.0

 

 

 

49.3

  

6.5

 

1999…………………

  

 

13.2

  

9.1

 

 

 

49.4

  

6.3

 

 

 

17.7

  

14.6

 

 

 

50.7

  

2.8

 

2000…………………

  

 

14.1

  

6.8

 

 

 

56.2

  

13.8

 

 

 

19.8

  

12.1

 

 

 

53.4

  

5.3

 

2001…………………

  

 

14.9

  

5.4

 

 

 

50.9

  

(9.5)

 

 

 

18.4

  

(7.3)

 

 

 

49.1

  

(8.0)

 

2002…………………

  

 

15.1

  

1.0

 

 

 

54.7

  

7.6

 

 

 

19.4

  

5.7

 

 

 

49.1

  

0.1

 

2003…………………

  

15.0

 

(0.1)

   

55.9

 

2.1

   

19.6

 

1.0

   

50.1

 

2.1

 

2004…………………

  

 

15.4

 

2.7

 

 

 

62.1

 

11.2

 

 

 

20.3

 

3.1

 

 

 

52.2

 

4.0

 

2005…………………

  

15.8

 

2.3

   

65.0

 

___

   

20.9

 

2.8

   

53.1

 

1.7

 

‘00-’05 CAGR

    

2.3

%

    

3.0

%

    

1.0

%

    

(0.1)

%



9





__________

Source: Veronis Suhler Stevenson, Communications Industry Forecast, July 1997 and 2005.

(1)

Includes broadcast television and cable and satellite television; excludes barter syndication.

(2)

Includes Publisher’s Print and Internet Yellow Pages revenue, as well as Pure Play Internet Yellow Pages revenue for 1999 through 2005.

We believe directory advertising is the preferred form of advertising for many small and medium-sized businesses due to its relatively low cost, broad demographic and geographic distribution, enduring presence and high customer usage rates. We believe that yellow pages advertising is attractive to our customers because consumers may view yellow pages directories as a free, comprehensive single source of information. While overall advertising tends to track an economy’s business cycle, directory advertising tends to be more stable and does not fluctuate widely with economic cycles due to its preference by small to medium-sized businesses, often as their principal or only form of advertising. Directory advertising is also recession-resistant because failure to advertise in a given directory cannot be remedied until the replacement directory is published, usually one year later. Moreover, most directory publishers, including us, give priority placement within a directory classification to their longest-tenured advertisers. As a result, advertisers have a strong incentive to renew their directory advertising purchases from year to year, so as not to lose their priority placement within the directory.

Long-term growth rates for the U.S. directory advertising industry also compare favorably to most other major media categories with a compounded annual growth rate of 2.3% from 2000 to 2005 versus a 1.4% average compounded annual growth rate during the same period for the aggregate of major forms of media consisting of newspaper, radio and television. According to CRM Associates, it was estimated that in 2002, directory advertising for the top 135 topical directory headings generated a median return on investment of $51 for every $1 spent, as compared to a median return on investment of $34 for newspapers, $19 for radio and $10 for television.

The Internet

Most major directory publishers, including us, operate an internet-based directory business, or IYP. The U.S. internet yellow pages market represented a small, but growing segment of the total U.S. directory advertising market in 2001 with total revenue of approximately $263 million, and grew to an estimated $966 million in 2005.  The internet yellow pages that have succeeded in generating advertising revenue have generally been captive ventures of incumbent print directory publishers or have established sales relationships with incumbent directory publishers. Industry sources estimate that 64% of 2005 Internet Yellow Pages revenues were generated by Print Publishers’ Internet Yellow Pages. Publishers have increasingly bundled online advertising with their traditional print offerings while applying notional value to the online product. We expect IYP usage to continue to steadily grow in support of overall directory usage.

Markets and Directories

In 2006, we published sixteen directories, including yellow pages, white pages and other specialty directories, and distributed approximately 3.4 million copies, including 2.4 million yellow pages and 1.0 million white pages directories, to businesses and residences primarily in the Cincinnati-Hamilton metropolitan area, which includes local communities and counties surrounding Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. Our directories are generally well-established in their communities and cover contiguous geographic areas to create a strong local market presence and to achieve selling efficiencies. The following table shows yellow pages directory services revenue and other data for the year ended December 31, 2006 for our directories in each area in which we operate:



10








Directory

Directory Services
Revenue(1)

Percentage of
Directory Services
Revenue(1)

Total Circulation(2)

 

(in thousands)

 

 


Greater Cincinnati…………………………….

 

       $46,617

 58.3%

780,000

Northern Kentucky……………………………

 

11,045

13.8

203,000

Butler County…………………………………

 

7,604

9.5

157,000

Clermont County……………………………...

 

5,398

6.8

116,000

Warren County………………………………..

 

2,070

2.6

135,000

The Work Book (b2b)……………………….

 

3,627

4.5

302,000*

GGP/Harrison (2 directories)…………………

 

1,091

1.4

47,000

Neighborhood YPs (7 directories)……………

 

2,517

3.1

695,000

 

    

TOTAL

 

        $79,969

           100%

2,435,000

__________

*      Includes electronic distribution of network-based CD-ROM

(1)

Excludes non-print related directory services revenue and white pages, which represented less than 1% of directory services revenue and included a total circulation of 1,029,000

(2)

Circulation based on initial and planned secondary delivery over life of publication.

Products

Our main product is printed directories, which generated approximately 92.5% of our total revenue for the year ended December 31, 2006. We also operate an internet-based directory, and offer audiotext and other direct marketing services.

Printed directories

In 2006, we published sixteen printed directories, consisting of:

·

Fourteen directories that contained a combination of yellow pages, business and/or residential white pages for the areas served, as well as display and other paid forms of advertisements;

·

One business-to-business directory (the Work Book) that contained yellow pages and business white page listings for select business-to-business and commercial businesses in the Cincinnati-Hamilton and Dayton regions, as well as display and other paid advertisements; and

·

One directory that contained only white pages, listing the names, addresses and phone numbers of residences and businesses in the area served, as well as limited paid advertising.  This directory is a contractual obligation with Cincinnati Bell Telephone and does not contribute revenues or expenses to CBD Media except for a fee charged to Cincinnati Bell Telephone for our services.

Our directories are designed to meet the advertising needs of local and national businesses and the informational needs of consumers. The diversity of our advertising products enables us to create customized advertising programs that are responsive to specific needs and financial resources of small and medium-sized businesses. Our yellow pages and white pages directories are also efficient sources of buying information for consumers, featuring a comprehensive list of businesses in the local market that are conveniently organized under approximately 2,600 topical directory headings.

Yellow pages directories.    We offer every business a basic listing at no charge in the relevant edition of our yellow pages directories. This listing includes the name, address and telephone number of the business and is included in alphabetical order in the relevant business classification. We maintain a database of these listings, which is derived



11





from data supplied daily from Cincinnati Bell Telephone. This database is supplemented with additional information acquired by our sales representatives and customer service employees.

For the year ended December 31, 2006, we derived approximately 92.5% of our total revenue from the sale of advertising in our yellow pages directories. A full range of paid advertising products are available in our yellow pages directories, as set forth below:

·

Listing options.    An advertiser may enhance its complimentary listing in several ways. It may pay to have its listing highlighted or printed in bold or superbold text, which increases the visibility of the listing. An advertiser may also purchase extra lines of text to convey additional relevant business information such as hours of operation or a more detailed description of its business.

·

In-column advertising options.    For greater prominence on a page, an advertiser may expand its basic alphabetical listing by purchasing advertising space in the column in which the listing appears. The cost of in-column advertising depends on the size and type of the advertisement purchased. In-column advertisements may include such features as bolding, special fonts, color and graphics.

·

Display advertising options.    A display advertisement allows businesses to include a wide range of information, illustrations, photographs and logos. The cost of display advertisements depends on the size and type of advertisement purchased. Display advertisements are placed at the front of a classification, and are ordered first by size and then by advertiser seniority. This process of ordering provides a strong incentive to advertisers to renew their advertising purchases from year-to-year and to increase the size of their advertisements to ensure that their advertisements receive priority placement. Display advertisements range in size from a quarter column to as large as two pages (a “double truck” advertisement).

·

Awareness products.    Our line of “awareness products” allows businesses to advertise in a variety of high-visibility locations on or in a directory. Each directory has a limited inventory of awareness products, which provide high value to advertisers and are priced at a premium to in-column and display advertisements. Our awareness products include:

o

Cover.    Premium location advertisements are available on the inside front and back cover and the outside back and front cover of a directory.

o

Spine.    Premium location advertisements are available on the spine of select yellow and white pages directories.

o

Tabs.    A full-page, double-sided, hardstock, full-color insert that is bound into and separates key sections of the directory. These inserts enable advertisers to achieve awareness and increase the amount of information displayed to directory users.

o

Tip-On.    Removable paper or magnet adhered to the front of the directory.

o

Banners.    A banner ad sold at the bottom of any page in the Community or Government sections of the print directory.

o

Ride-Alongs.    Promotional inserts that are packaged and distributed along with the directories during initial and secondary deliveries.

o

Talking Yellow Pages.    An Audiotext product that is bundled and sold as sponsorships at select high usage headings.

o

Delivery Bag.    Up to two customers can advertise on the bag used in the initial delivery of all print directories.

White pages directory.    State public utilities commissions require Cincinnati Bell Telephone, as the local exchange carrier in its local service area, to publish and distribute a white pages directory to serve the local service area. In March 2002, we entered into a White Pages Publication and Distribution Agreement with Cincinnati Bell Telephone whereby we were appointed Cincinnati Bell Telephone’s exclusive agent to sell advertising, manufacture and distribute their white pages directory. By virtue of this agreement, we provide a white pages listing to every residence and business in a given area that sets forth the name, address and phone number of the residence or business in question unless they have requested to be a non-published or non-listed customer. Under this agreement,



12





we also solicit and sell advertising to be included in the white pages directory. This agreement is effective until March 2012 at which time it is renewable at our discretion for a period of an additional ten years.

Internet-based directory and electronic products

Although we remain primarily focused on our printed directories, we also market an internet-based yellow pages directory (IYP), www.cincinnatibellyellowpages.com, to our advertisers. We believe that cincinnatibellyellowpages.com is the leading internet yellow pages directory in our market. For the year ended December 31, 2006, our internet-based directory services generated approximately 7.2% of our total revenue and had an average of 376,000 monthly yellow pages searches. All of the listings in our printed directories also appear in our internet-based directory, which is available to users at no additional charge to our advertisers. The content we create for our printed directories, which we also post on our website, as well as the unique content within our semi-custom websites, our packaging of search engine marketing programs, and traffic-generating distribution relationships makes us competitive on the internet.

As in our printed directories, businesses may pay to enhance their listings or enhance their listing placement on  cincinnatibellyellowpages.com and for other premium advertising products.  Options that are available on our website include pay per click placements on National search engines, semi-custom web sites, category sponsorships, keyword advertising enhanced listings, replicated print advertisements, website links, banner ads and traffic packages on affiliate IYP platforms. We view our internet-based directory as a complement to our print product rather than as a stand-alone business. We believe that increased usage of internet-based directories will continue to support overall usage of the directory business.  At this time leveraging the key assets of the sales channel and products as a single solution continues to make strategic sense at this time.

To promote future usage of our internet-based directories, we continue to bundle our internet products with our print advertising products as a single source solution to increase the customer value proposition while supporting rate increases. We also deliver our yellow pages content electronically, including through CD-ROMs and soon through wireless platforms, and will continue to explore new means to gather and deliver our content to consumers to best meet their needs.

Sales and Marketing

The marketing of directory advertisements is primarily a direct sales business that requires both maintaining existing customers and developing new customers. Renewing customers comprise our core advertiser base, and a large number of these customers have advertised in our directories for many years. In 2006, we retained over 84.3% of our local advertisers from the previous year. We believe that this high renewal rate reflects the importance of our directories to our local customers, for whom yellow pages directory advertising is, in many cases, the primary form of advertising.

We have outsourced our direct sales effort to L.M. Berry and Company (a subsidiary of the Bell South Corporation), which we believe to be one of the most experienced sales forces in the U.S. directory advertising industry. Our directory advertising and marketing agreement with L.M. Berry expires in August 2009. L.M. Berry is a sales agency dedicated to the selling of local yellow pages advertising on behalf of incumbent local telephone companies across the United States and currently has offices in 39 states. L.M. Berry handles the sale of local advertising for our yellow and white pages directories, and Internet Yellow Pages manages our national advertising sale process for these directories and is responsible for all yellow and white pages “pre-press” services and Internet production and placements.

We conduct two major sales campaigns each year, selling both print and internet-based directory advertising to our customers. The first campaign consists of two Cincinnati-Hamilton metropolitan area directories, a Cincinnati city edition and a Northern Kentucky edition, as well as neighborhood underlay directories. The metropolitan campaign delivers its books in June and typically contributes 75% of revenue. The second campaign consists of suburban market directories and a business-to-business directory. The suburban campaign delivers its books in November and typically contributes 25% of our revenue. Each of these campaigns consists of an extended marketing plan, sales canvass and sales campaign.



13





As our exclusive local advertising sales agent, L.M. Berry is required to employ an adequate sales force and support staff to sell our directory advertising and provide customer support to our local advertisers. L.M. Berry provides sales management, clerical and sales support staff to provide these services, as well as artists and graphic designers who are responsible for assisting advertisers to create art copy to be included in their print and internet yellow pages advertisements. L.M. Berry also prepares credit and billing information for us, assists us with the collection of delinquent accounts, and prepares presentations and reports that update us on its sales progress and other marketing information.

In addition to our locally-based sales personnel, L.M. Berry manages a separate sales channel to serve our approximately 1,200 national advertisers. National advertisers are typically national or large regional chains, such as rental car companies, insurance companies and pizza delivery businesses, that purchase advertisements in many yellow pages directories in multiple geographical regions. In order to sell to national advertisers, we retain the services of third-party certified marketing representatives, or CMRs. CMRs design and create advertisements for national companies and place those advertisements in yellow pages directories nationwide. Some CMRs are departments of general advertising agencies, while others are specialized agencies that focus solely on directory advertising. The national advertiser pays the CMR, which then pays us after deducting its commission. We have relationships with approximately 200 CMRs and employ one national sales manager to ma nage our selling efforts to national customers. For the national sales function, L.M. Berry manages order processing, updates and maintains advertising rates, supports CMR relationships and generates sales reports and analyzes national advertising sales performance.

With respect to pre-press services, L.M. Berry provides services including ad design and production, page layout, pagination, advertising inventory control, customer acknowledgement preparation and mailing, quality review of final page proofs, production scheduling and provisioning and forwarding of completed directory products to the printer.  

L.M. Berry is compensated for its services on a commission basis, consisting of a base commission and incentive commission. In addition, we pay L.M. Berry an annual prepress fee. For the year ended December 31, 2006, we paid L.M. Berry approximately $15.2 million for its services to us. L.M. Berry’s performance is measured through a system of key performance indicators, which monitor our revenue growth, advertiser contact and satisfaction and production cycle time, among other things. Based on the annual results of these key performance indicators, we may terminate the agreement or L.M. Berry may earn additional compensation for exceeding performance levels. In addition, during the term and for one year following the expiration or termination of the agreement, L.M. Berry and its parent company, BellSouth Advertising and Publishing Company, and all of its majority owned subsidiaries may not compete with us in the service area covered by the agreement.

Billing and Collection Services

In connection with the purchase of the directory publishing assets of Cincinnati Bell Directory from Cincinnati Bell Inc., we entered into a billing and collection services operating agreement with Cincinnati Bell Telephone, the local exchange carrier subsidiary of Cincinnati Bell Inc. Pursuant to this billing and collections services operating agreement, Cincinnati Bell Telephone continues to bill and collect, on our behalf, amounts owed by our customers in connection with our directory services and sweeps cash to us on a daily basis. For customers for whom Cincinnati Bell Telephone is the provider of local telephone service, Cincinnati Bell Telephone bills the customer on the same billing statement that it bills the customer for its local telephone service. For the year ended December 31, 2006, we paid Cincinnati Bell Telephone approximately $1.0 million for its services to us. In addition, Cincinnati Bell Telephone has agreed not to provide similar services to any of our competitors during the term of the agreement. This billing arrangement will continue until March 2012, with an automatic renewal for a subsequent ten-year period unless we elect to terminate the agreement prior to the end of the initial term. Either party may also terminate this agreement if the other party commits a material breach that is not cured within sixty days of written notice of the breach. As part of the agreement, Cincinnati Bell Telephone also agreed to meet certain service level requirements with the goal of ensuring high quality service under objectively agreed upon standards. If Cincinnati Bell Telephone fails to meet these service level requirements, we may have the right to receive credits towards the fee payments that we owe under the agreement. Cincinnati Bell Telephone prepares a regular monthly report summarizing its collections and settlements effort and service performance, including service level requirement statistics.



14





Printing, Paper and Distribution

Quebecor Agreement

Quebecor World Directory Sales Corporation prints all of our directories. Our directories are typically printed two months before delivery. Our current contract with Quebecor began in January 1999 and expires on December 31, 2011, at which time the contract may be extended by mutual agreement for up to two additional years. Under the agreement, Quebecor provides us with printing services, including white pages and miscellaneous photocompilation, plating, presswork, binding and other services for each of our directories. Small size directories are produced by Quebecor in its Waukee, Iowa facility, while full to midsize directories and photocompilation are primarily manufactured at Quebecor’s Hazleton, Pennsylvania facility. Quebecor’s services are performed in accordance with specifications set forth in the agreement, which we may change upon written notice to Quebecor provided the changes do not materially adversely affect its business and we provide a reasonable time to effect the changes. We have the opportunity to access Quebecor’s facilities during work hours to review its quality systems and to make observations. Quebecor also agrees to host semi-annual sessions to target quality improvement. For the year ended December 31, 2006, we paid Quebecor approximately $7.4 million for its services to us. Quebecor agreed to indemnify us for third-party intellectual property infringement and certain other claims related to the printing services, including a certain amount of losses or expenses arising out of our customers’ claims of errors or omissions in the directories caused by Quebecor.

DDA Agreement

We have entered into a directory delivery agreement with Directory Distributing Associates, Inc. (DDA), under which DDA distributes our printed directories and other collateral advertising material to consumers in our service territories, including Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana, by hand or mail delivery. The distribution typically commences each May and October of a given year for the June and November sales campaigns, respectively. This agreement which originally expired on December 31, 2005, has been mutually extended for the two (2) one-year extension terms as provided for in the Agreement.  The new effective expiration date is December 31, 2007.  We may terminate all or part of the agreement if DDA fails to deliver the directories within the specified time frame or upon a breach of another term, condition or provision of the contract not cured within ten days of receipt of notice of breach. We may also terminate at our convenience upon payment of any a mount due to DDA for services provided and costs incurred. During the term, DDA may not distribute any other directory to our customers.

As part of its directory distribution services, DDA is responsible for hiring, training, compensating and terminating personnel or contractors used to perform the services, as well as other matters related to such persons or businesses, organizing delivery stations in each delivery area, coordinating shipping and shipping instructions, having and being responsible for delivery equipment, trucks and labor and conducting telephone quality checks to monitor performance.

We reimburse DDA for direct expenses indicated in the agreement and pay DDA an additional annual fixed fee (negotiated at the beginning of each calendar year) for each metropolitan and suburban distribution. For the year ended December 31, 2006, we paid DDA $1.7 million for their services to us. To measure DDA’s performance and ensure that we receive quality service, we have established a system of performance measures, including delivery timing benchmarks, customer satisfaction, claimed possession, delivery quality and delivery packaging that are measured each year. Based on the results of these performance measures, we may grant DDA a contract extension, award it a bonus or terminate the agreement.

Customers

In 2006, more than 16,000 local businesses purchased advertising in our printed directories. Approximately 84% of our revenue for the year ended December 31, 2006 was generated by the sale of advertising in our printed and on-line directories to local businesses, which are generally small and medium-sized enterprises.

We do not depend to any significant extent on the sale of advertising to a particular industry or to a particular advertiser.  The diversity of our customer base reduces exposure to adverse economic conditions that may affect particular geographic regions or particular industries and provides additional stability in operating results. The table



15





below, which sets forth 2006 information relating to our largest directory headings, demonstrates the diversity of our customer base:

Directory heading

Percentage of
total revenue

 

Number of
advertisers

Attorneys……………………………………………………..

            6.5%

 

531

Insurance……………………………………………………..

3.4

 

708

Physicians & Surgeons Guide………………………………..

3.3

 

572

Dentists……………………………………………………….

3.2

 

508

Storage………………………………………………………..

2.1

 

148

Physicians & Surgeons - MD………………………………...

2.0

 

522

Plumbing Contractors………………………………………...

1.9

 

228

Attorneys – Specialty Guide…………………………………

1.8

 

296

Veterinarians…………….…………………………………..

1.6

 

165

Roofing Contractors…..……………………………………..

1.5

 

154

Total………………………………………………………….

27.3%

 

3,832

We enjoy high local advertiser retention rates. For the past five years, our average annual customer retention rate remained stable at approximately 84%, including the loss of advertisers as a result of business failures, which equaled approximately 4% in 2005. We believe this retention rate compares favorably to the retention rates of our competitors. The total loss of advertisers was partially offset by the addition of new customers. Increases in total advertising spending and average dollars spent per advertisement also partially offset any net loss of advertisers.

We believe that this low level of turnover reflects a high level of satisfaction among our customers. The training that L.M. Berry and we provide to L.M. Berry’s sales representatives emphasizes the fostering of long- term relationships between sales representatives and their customers, and our blend of salary and incentive-based compensation structure with L.M. Berry is more customer-focused by equitably rewarding customer growth and new customer acquisition. In addition, our customers often do not reduce or eliminate directory spending during difficult economic periods because the failure to advertise cannot be remedied until the replacement directory is published, usually one year later. Moreover, most directory publishers, including us, give priority placement within a directory classification to long-time advertisers. As a result, businesses have a strong incentive to renew their directory advertising purchases from year-to-year, even during difficult e conomic times, so as not to lose their placement within the directory.

Competition

The U.S. directory advertising industry is competitive. We compete with many different advertising and other media, including newspapers, radio, television, the internet, billboards, direct mail and other yellow pages directory publishers. In total, there are five directory publishers we compete against, and we estimate that we have the dominant market share with over 86% of the directory market revenue.  We compete with these publishers on value, quality, features, distribution and brand.  Additionally, a new competitor, Verizon Information Services (SuperPages brand), entered the Cincinnati marketplace in 2004.  Verizon published two directories in 2004 that overlay our coverage.  While we understand their interest in the Cincinnati market has been sold, we do not know the intentions of the new ownership.  

In connection with the acquisition, we entered into a licensing agreement and a non-competition agreement with Cincinnati Bell Inc., formerly the sole shareholder of Cincinnati Bell Directory, and a white pages publishing agreement with Cincinnati Bell Telephone. Under the license agreement, we have the exclusive right to the trademark “Cincinnati Bell Directory” in the conduct of our directory business in the Cincinnati-Hamilton metropolitan area until 2022. We believe the brand recognition afforded to us under the incumbent telephone company’s brand differentiates our directories from our independent competitors and provides a competitive advantage that leads to broader distribution, higher usage of our directories by end-users and long-term relationships with our customers.

Under the non-competition agreement, which remains in effect until 2012, Cincinnati Bell Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates are contractually prohibited from competing with us in the directory publication business in the



16





Cincinnati-Hamilton metropolitan area until March 2012. This prohibition extends to our entire telephone directory business in that territory, whether conducted in written or electronic form, or displayed on the Internet or other dissemination device, including all primary, metro and suburban, business to business and underlay; all products and services related to the foregoing; and all Internet initiatives, websites, web hosting, web design and similar activities relating to the foregoing which existed when we acquired the business from Cincinnati Bell Inc.. In addition, if Cincinnati Bell Inc. or any of its subsidiaries or affiliates engages in the directory publishing business (as was conducted immediately prior to our acquisition in March 2002) in the Cincinnati-Hamilton metropolitan area at any time after the expiration of the non-competition agreement in March 2012 or upon any termination of that agreement prior to that time, Cincinnati Bell Inc. is obligat ed, under the terms of the asset purchase agreement, to pay us 85% of all revenues resulting from such business through the earlier of 2022 or the termination of our license agreement pursuant to its terms. See “Risk Factors—The loss of any of our key agreements with Cincinnati Bell Inc. or its wholly-owned subsidiary, Cincinnati Bell Telephone, could have a material adverse effect on our business.”

Under the white pages publication agreement, we are the exclusive publisher of, and distributor and sales agent for, the white pages directories for Cincinnati Bell Telephone. The agreement commenced in March 2002 and will remain in effect until March 2012 at which time it will automatically renew for an additional ten-year term at our discretion.

The internet has emerged as a new medium for consumers and advertisers. Although advertising on the internet still represents a small part of the total advertising market, as yellow pages references migrate to the internet, it will become increasingly important to the directory advertising medium. Most major yellow pages publishers operate an internet-based directory business. We compete through our primary internet site, cincinnatibellyellowpages.com, with these other publishers, with internet yellow pages portals and search engine sites providing classified directory information, such as Yahoo!, Google and America Online, with other independent IYP’s such as Switchboard.com, YellowPages.com.  As a result of the acquisition, we also acquired sixteen other relevant domain names which could be used in the conduct of our business. Cincinnati Bell Inc.’s prohibition against competing with our business also includes the internet and other dissemination devices.

Intellectual Property

In 2002, we entered into an agreement with Cincinnati Bell Inc. that allows us to use the widely-recognized Cincinnati Bell directory marks in the conduct of our business in the Cincinnati-Hamilton metropolitan area. Under this agreement, in the Cincinnati-Hamilton metropolitan area we have an exclusive (even as to Cincinnati Bell Inc., its parent, subsidiaries and affiliates), royalty-free license to use the trademark and service mark “Cincinnati Bell Directory” and a royalty-free, non-exclusive right to use all of the other trademarks, trade names and service marks which were licensed to Cincinnati Bell Inc. in the 1980s under a set of agreements relating to the December 31, 1983 divestiture of the Bell companies by AT&T. The agreement commenced in March 2002 and will remain in effect until March 2012 at which time it will automatically renew for an additional ten-year term at our discretion. Under the agreement, Cincinnati Bell Inc. has the oblig ation to take all actions reasonably necessary to enforce the marks described in the license agreement.

We are also party to a non-exclusive agreement with Cincinnati Bell Telephone Company, whereby we are granted a worldwide, irrevocable license to use Cincinnati Bell Telephone’s subscriber list information and subscriber list information updates, for the purposes of publishing directories in any format (electronic or otherwise), and to display the subscriber list information and the subscriber list information updates on any website or other internet or wireless dissemination device, for a scheduled fee plus costs. The agreement commenced in March 2002 and will remain in effect until March 2012 at which time it will automatically renew for an additional ten-year term at our discretion.

We believe that the phrase “yellow pages” and the walking fingers logo are in the public domain in the United States.

Employees

As of December 31, 2006, we employed eleven full-time employees. We consider relations with our employees to be good.



17





Item 1A.  Risk Factors

According to a report produced by the Kelsey Group dated March 17, 2004, from 1995 through 2003, the overall usage of printed yellow pages directories in the United States declined, while usage stabilized between 2001 and 2003.  We believe factors such as the increased usage of Internet-based directories and the proliferation of wireless devices offering yellow pages-like content have caused these declines and that these factors may cause further declines in usage, possibly at accelerated rates.  We currently derive substantially all of our revenues from our printed yellow pages directories.  A decline in the usage of our printed yellow pages directories could:


·

impair our ability to maintain or increase our advertising prices;


·

cause businesses that purchase advertising in our yellow pages directories to reduce or discontinue those purchases and


·

discourage businesses that do not purchase advertising in our yellow pages directories from doing so.


Any of these consequences, or a combination of them, could have a material adverse effect on our revenues, results of operations and financial condition.  In addition, a decline in the number of businesses that purchase advertising from us, whether as a result of the factors described above or other factors, could affect our revenues.  In the past we have experienced such declines and may continue to do so in the future.  We cannot assure you that further declines will not have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.


Our combination with Local Insight may not achieve the benefits expected from the transaction, which may have a material adverse effect on our business.


Achieving the benefits of the transaction will depend in part on the successful integration of technology, operations, and personnel.  The integration of Local Insight and CBD Media will be a complex, time-consuming and expensive process and may disrupt both companies’ business if not completed in a timely and efficient manner.  The challenges and risks involved in this integration include the following:


·

Retaining relationships with existing customers and strategic partners and retaining and integrating management and other key employees of both Local Insight and CBD Media;

·

Combining product and service offerings effectively and quickly;

·

The potential disruption of our ongoing business and distraction of our management; and

·

Unanticipated expenses related to the integration.


The integration of the companies may not succeed in addressing these risks or any other problems encountered in connection with the transaction.  The integration process will be further complicated by the need to integrate widely dispersed operations, multiple offices and different corporate cultures.  It is not certain that we can be successfully integrated with Local Insight in a timely manner or at all or that any of the anticipated benefits will be realized.  Failure to do so could materially harm the combined company’s business and operating results.  


Expenses related to the merger could adversely affect CBD Media and Local Insight's combined financial results.


Both we and Local Insight expect to incur significant direct transaction costs in connection with the transaction and additional costs related to the integration of the companies.  If the benefits of the transaction do not exceed the costs associated with the transaction, our financial results, including earnings per share, could be adversely affected, which may then prevent us from paying dividends to Local Insight.  



18






Our significant dependence on third-party service providers could materially and adversely affect us.


Substantially all of our operations are outsourced to third-party service providers, and we are dependent upon the performance of third parties for the following key components of our operations:


·

sales of advertising;


·

printing of directories;


·

distribution and delivery of directories; and


·

billing and collection


We must rely on the information and other systems of our third-party service providers, their ability to perform key operations on our behalf in a timely manner and in accordance with agreed levels of service and their ability to attract and retain sufficient qualified personnel to perform our work.  A failure in the systems of our third-party service providers or their inability to perform in accordance with the terms of our contracts or to retain sufficient qualified personnel could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.  For example, L.M. Berry and Company is, and since 1996 has been, our exclusive sales agent for local advertising.  As our exclusive sales agent for local advertising, L.M. Berry expends significant resources and management time in identifying and training its sales representatives and is required to employ an adequate sales force and support staff to sell our directory advertising and to provide c ustomer support to our local advertisers.  L.M. Berry’s ability to attract and retain qualified sales personnel depends, however, on numerous factors, including factors that we cannot control.  A loss of significant number of experienced sales representatives would likely result in reduced sales of advertising in our directories and could materially adversely affect our business.  In addition, we are a party to a contract with Quebecor World Directory Sales Corporation for the printing of our directories which expires on December 31, 2011.  Because of the large print volume and specialized binding of directories, there are only a small number of companies in the printing industry that could service our needs.  Accordingly, the inability or unwillingness of Quebecor to provide services to us on acceptable terms or at all could have a material adverse effect on our business.


While we are parties to long-term contracts with the third partiers who provide key operational services to us, we may not be able to maintain our current relationships with these or any other third-party service providers.  If we were to lose the services of any of our key third-party service providers, we would be required either to hire sufficient staff to perform the provider’s services in-house or to find an alternative service provider.  In some cases, such as the printing of our directories, it would be impracticable for us to perform the function internally.  Even when practicable, in the event we were required to perform any of the services that we currently outsource, we may not be able to perform them on a cost effective basis.  In each case, there are a limited number of alternative third-party service providers, if any.


The loss of any of our key agreements with Cincinnati Bell Inc. or its wholly-owned subsidiary, Cincinnati Bell Telephone Company, could have a material adverse effect on our business.


In connection with the acquisition of our business from Cincinnati Bell Inc., we entered into a series of contracts with Cincinnati Bell Inc. and Cincinnati Bell Telephone, including, but not limited to, a trademark license agreement, a non-competition agreement, a subscriber list information license agreement, a white pages publication and distribution agreement, a billing and collection services agreement.  An affiliate of Cincinnati Bell Inc., Cincinnati Bell Inc. Holdings, retains a 2.5% equity interest in CBD Holdings.  Under the trademark license agreement, Cincinnati Bell Inc. has granted us a royalty-free, exclusive right to the trademark and service mark “Cincinnati Bell Directory” in our publication area.  In addition, Cincinnati Bell Inc. has granted us a royalty-free, non-exclusive right to use other trademarks, trade names and service marks in our publication area.  The agreement commenced in March 2002 and will remain in effect until March 201 2, at which time it may be automatically renewed for an additional ten-year term at our discretion.  We consider the “Cincinnati Bell” name to have substantial branding value in our publication area.  If we were to lose our right to the “Cincinnati Bell” brand under the license agreement, it could have a material adverse effect on the usage of our directories and on our ability to sell



19





advertising either of which could have a material adverse effect on our revenue, results of operations and financial condition.  In addition, the loss of our right to use the “Cincinnati Bell Directory” trademark could constitute an event of default under the senior credit facility.


Under the non-competition agreement, Cincinnati Bell Inc. has agreed that neither it nor its subsidiaries or affiliates will own, manage, join, operate or control or participate in the ownership, management, operation or control of, or be connected as a director, officer, employee, partner consultant or advisor with, or permit their names to be used by, any business that competes with our business as constituted at the time of the acquisition in our publication territory.  This agreement commenced in March 2002 and will expire in March 2012.  We are entitled to injunctive relief should Cincinnati Bell Inc. breach its obligation not to compete with us.  If Cincinnati Bell Inc. were to breach this agreement and our remedies prove inadequate, it could have a material adverse effect on our business.


Under the billing and collection services agreement, Cincinnati Bell Telephone bills our customers on our behalf and collects payments from them.  Our contract with Cincinnati Bell Telephone commenced in March 2002 and continues until March 2012, with an automatic renewal for a subsequent ten-year period unless we elect to terminate the agreement prior to the initial term.  If Cincinnati Bell Telephone were unable or unwilling to provide billing and collection services and we were unable to promptly transition to a new billing system or to an alternative service provider, we may not be able to collect our unpaid receivables which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and cash flow.  We believe our collection efforts are enhanced because Cincinnati Bell Telephone collects on our behalf and therefore our inability to use Cincinnati Bell Telephone would have a material adverse effect on our business.


Under the white pages publication agreement, we are the exclusive publisher of, and distributors and sales agent for, the white pages directories for Cincinnati Bell Telephone.  The agreement commenced in March 2002 and will remain in effect until March 2012 at which time it will automatically renew for an additional ten-year term at our discretion.  If Cincinnati Bell Inc. were to breach this agreement and our remedies prove inadequate, it could have a material adverse effect on our business.


If Cincinnati Bell Inc. or Cincinnati Bell Telephone were to seek protection under the U.S. bankruptcy laws, our agreements with Cincinnati Bell Inc. or Cincinnati Bell Telephone, as the case may be, could adversely affected.  For example, Cincinnati Bell Inc. or Cincinnati Bell Telephone could seek to reject their respective agreements with us as executory contracts under U.S. bankruptcy law.  If the bankruptcy court were to hold that any such contract was executory, Cincinnati Bell Inc. or Cincinnati Bell Telephone, as the case may be, could void its obligations under the contract.  While we might have a claim for damages against Cincinnati Bell Inc. or Cincinnati Bell Telephone in this circumstance, such damages, if any, may not be sufficient to compensate us for the loss of any rejected contract.  Moreover, in the case of the license agreement and the non-competition agreement, our inability to enforce our rights under those agreements could cause irreparable dam age to our business.  Our collection of cash under the billing and collection services agreement also could be adversely affected if a bankruptcy court, in a case involving Cincinnati Bell Telephone as a debtor, were to rule that amounts collected on our behalf by Cincinnati Bell Telephone became property of Cincinnati Bell Telephone prior their payment to us.  In that event, the bankruptcy could determine that (1) any amounts (a) billed but not collected prior to the commencement of the bankruptcy case, or (b) collected but not remitted to us prior to the commencement of the bankruptcy case were property of Cincinnati Bell Telephone for which we would have only an unsecured claim and (2) any amounts paid to us by Cincinnati Bell Telephone during the 90-day period prior to the bankruptcy could be recovered from us as a preference.  In addition, we could experience delays in obtaining payment of amounts that Cincinnati Bell Telephone collects on our behalf after such a bankruptcy filings.


We focus exclusively on the Cincinnati-Hamilton metropolitan area, and consequently we may be subject to greater business risk than more geographically diversified directory publishers.


Our directory publishing services are concentrated in the Cincinnati-Hamilton metropolitan area, and we do not expect that we will expand our operations in the foreseeable future.  As a result, we will likely continue to be entirely dependent upon our Cincinnati-Hamilton operations for all of our cash flow.  Because our operations focus on a single market, we may be subject to greater risks than a geographically diversified directory publishing company as a result of:



20






·

a downturn in local or regional economic conditions;


·

an increase in competition in our area;


·

changes in local and state governmental laws and regulations; and


·

natural and other disasters in our area


Competition from other directory publishers and other forms of advertising media could materially and adversely affect us.


We derive substantially all our revenues from the sale of advertising which is placed in our printed directories, our electronic directories on CD-ROM or on www.cincinnatibellyellowpages.com, our Internet-based directory.  In the Cincinnati-Hamilton metropolitan area, we compete with a number of independent directory publishers, including Yell Group plc.  Our Internet-based directory competes with other yellow pages publishers’ Internet-based directories, Internet portal sites providing classified directory information, such as Yahoo!, Google and America Online, with pure-play independent Internet-based yellow pages such as Switchboard.com and Yellowpages.com and with vertical players such as Citysearch.com and Zagat.com some of which have entered into affiliate agreements with other major directory publishers.  In the future, other directory publishers could elect to publish directories in the Cincinnati market and other competitors to our Internet-based dire ctory could emerge.  We may not be able to compete effectively with any of our existing or future competitors, many of which will have greater resources than we do.  In addition, we also compete against other media, including newspapers, radio, television, the Internet, billboards and direct mail, for advertising, and we may not be able to compete successfully against these and other media for such advertising.


A decline in the dominance of Cincinnati Bell Telephone Company could adversely affect our business.


The Telecommunications Act of 1996 effectively opened local telephone markets to increased competition.  Consequently, Cincinnati Bell Telephone may not remain the dominant local telephone service provider in its local service area.  If Cincinnati Bell Telephone were no longer the dominant local telephone service provider in its local service area, we may not realize some of the anticipated benefits under our trademark license agreement, subscriber list information license agreement and billing and collection services agreement with Cincinnati Bell Telephone.  A decrease in the benefits we realize from these agreements could have a material adverse effect on our business.


Fluctuations in the price of paper could adversely affect our cost of revenue, results of operations and cash flows.


The principal raw material used in producing our printed directories is paper.  For the year ended December 31, 2006, paper costs comprised approximately 5.4% of our net revenue and 14.2% of our cost of revenue.  We obtain our supply of paper through Quebecor under our agreement with it for the printing and binding of our directories, although we retain the right to purchase paper from other providers.  Under the Quebecor agreement, we have the option to purchase paper at prevailing spot market prices or lock in a fixed price for a two-year period.  As of December 31, 2006 we had elected to purchase paper at prevailing spot market prices.  We do not engage in hedging activities to limit our exposure to paper price increases.  The price of paper may fluctuate significantly in the future.  Changes in the supply of, or demand for, paper could affect delivery times and prices.  We may not be able to continue to purchase paper at reasonable prices and any increases in the cost of paper may have a material adverse effect on our cost of revenue, results of operations and cash flows.


Our practice of extending credit to small and medium-sized businesses may result in sales adjustments and could have a material adverse effect on our financial position, results of operations and cash flows.


For the year ended December 31, 2006, approximately 84% of our net revenue was generated through the sale of advertising to local businesses, which are generally small and medium-sized businesses.  In the ordinary course of our directory operations, we extend credit to these customers for advertising purchases.  As of December 31, 2006, we had approximately 16,000 customers to which we extended credit with an average amount due per customer of



21





approximately $407.  Full collection of delinquent accounts can take many months or may never occur.  For the year ended December 31, 2006, sales adjustments for our customers amounted to $1.4 million, or approximately 1.6% of our revenue.  Small and medium-sized businesses tend to have fewer financial resources and higher rates of failure than do larger businesses.  Although our historical sales adjustments have been approximately 4.5%, our practice of extending credit to small and medium-sized businesses may result in significantly higher sales adjustments in the future which could have a material adverse effect on our financial position, results of operations and cash flows.


Our sales of advertising to national accounts is coordinated by third parties that we do not control.


Approximately 16% of our net revenue for the year ended December 31, 2006 was derived from the sale of advertising to national or large regional chains, such as rental car companies, automobile repair shops and pizza delivery businesses, that purchase advertising in several of our directories.  We sell advertising to these accounts through approximately 220 certified marketing representatives, or CMRs.  CMRs are independent third parties that act as agents for national companies, design their advertisements, arrange for the placement of those advertisements in directories and provide billing services.  Our relationships with our national and large regional advertisers depend significantly on the performance of these third-party CMRs whom we do not control.  Any decline in the performance of the CMRs with whom we contract could harm our ability to generate revenue from our national and large regional accounts and could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.


Given our limited number of employees, the loss of key personnel could have a material adverse effect on our business due to their specific knowledge associated with CBD Media the yellow pages industry.


Our current management team has over 50 years combine experience.  Our business depends upon the continued efforts, abilities and expertise of our executive officers, Douglas A. Myers, John P. Schwing and David D. Miller, each of whom has served in the management of our business for many years and has relationships with one or more of our strategic partners.  We believe that the loss of one or more of these individuals could have material adverse effect on our business.  While these key individuals each have an employment agreement, effective March 7, 2002 in the case of Mr. Myers and March 8, 2003 in the cases Messrs. Schwing and Miller, which runs through September 30, 2008, they do represent three of eleven employees, or 27% of the Company’s workforce.


ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS

The Company has received no written comments regarding its periodic or current reports from the staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission that were issued 180 days or more preceding the end of its 2006 fiscal year and that remain unresolved.

ITEM 2. PROPERTIES

The table below provides a summary of our leased facilities as of December 31, 2006. Currently, we do not own any real property.



Location

Total Square Feet


Lease Expiration



Principal Function

312 Plum Street, 9th Floor, Cincinnati, OH

5,600

April 2007

Headquarters and administration

2130 Western Ave., Cincinnati, OH

10,250

May 2012

Secondary delivery & Distribution Customer Service


We consider our properties to be in good condition generally and believe that our facilities are adequate to meet our anticipated requirements.

ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

From time to time, we are a party to litigation matters arising in connection with the normal course of our business. In many of these matters, plaintiffs allege that they have suffered damages from errors or omissions or improper listings contained in directories published by us. Although we have not had notice of any such claims that we



22





believe to be material, any pending or future claim could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations or cash flows.

In addition, we are exposed to defamation and breach of privacy claims arising from our publication of directories and our methods of collecting, processing and using personal data. The subjects of our data and users of data that we collect and publish could have claims against us if such data were found to be inaccurate, or if personal data stored by us was improperly accessed and disseminated by unauthorized persons. Although we have not had notice of any material claims relating to defamation or breach of privacy claims to date, we may become party to litigation matters that could have a material adverse effect on our business.

ITEM 4. SUBMISSION OF MATTERS TO A VOTE OF SECURITIES HOLDERS

No matters were submitted to a vote of security holders during the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2006.

PART II

ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON STOCK AND RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS

There is no established public trading market for CBD Media’s membership units, and it is not expected that such a market will develop in the future. As of December 31, 2006, CBD Media had 24,046 membership units issued and outstanding.  All of the issued and outstanding equity interests of CBD Media LLC are owned by CBD Holdings. CBD Investor, which is owned by certain affiliates of Spectrum Equity Investors, owns membership interests in CBD Holdings that represent approximately 95% of the economic interests of CBD Holdings (assuming full vesting of the issued and outstanding Class C units) and 100% of the voting power of CBD Holdings. The remainder of the membership interests in CBD Holdings are owned by an affiliate of Cincinnati Bell Inc., Douglas A. Myers, John P. Schwing, David D. Miller and other members of our management. CBD Media is the sole stockholder of CBD Finance, Inc.

Distributions on CBD Media’s membership units are governed by the Limited Liability Company Agreement.

ITEM 6. SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA

The following table sets forth for the periods indicated selected historical consolidated financial data for the Company. The following selected historical consolidated financial data is qualified by the more detailed consolidated financial statements of the Company and the notes thereto included elsewhere in this annual report and should be read in conjunction with such consolidated financial statements and notes and the discussion under “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” included elsewhere in this annual report.

The consolidated statement of operations data for the periods ended December 31, 2006, 2005, 2004 and 2003, and March 7, 2002, and balance sheet data as of December 31, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003 and 2002, and March 7, 2002 have been derived from our audited consolidated financial statements.



23








  

Predecessor

                   CBD Media

  

Period from Jan 1, 2002 to March 7, 2002

Period from March 8, 2002 to Dec. 31,
2002

Year Ended

Dec. 31,

 2003

Year Ended

Dec. 31,

 2004

Year Ended

Dec. 31,

 2005

Year Ended

Dec. 31,

 2006

  

(Dollars in thousands)

 

(Dollars in thousands)

  

Statement of Operations Data:

       

Net revenue…………………………...

 

$14,269

$67,535

$86,285

$87,654

$86,792

$86,485

Income (loss) from continuing operations………………………...........

 


3,011


6,630


(2,746)


(80)


1,385


571

Balance Sheet Data (at period end):

       

Total assets…………………………….

 

$13,201

$374,257

$341,922

$309,661

$275,981

$246,207

Total debt…………………...................

 

-

210,000

308,600

303,000

282,000

260,000

Total owner’s net investments…………

 

5,056

-

-

-

-

-

Total member’s capital (deficit)….……

 

-

144,514

15,557

(10,920)

(20,554)

(28,794)

        

ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

Overview

The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations covers periods prior and subsequent to our acquisition of the directory publishing business assets of Cincinnati Bell Inc.. We have operated as a stand-alone company since our acquisition of these assets on March 8, 2002. The acquisition has been accounted for under the purchase method of accounting.

We are the ninth largest directory publisher in the United States, based on 2006 revenue, and are the exclusive directory publisher for Cincinnati Bell branded yellow pages. We service the Cincinnati-Hamilton metropolitan area, which is the 23rd largest metropolitan area in the country according to the most recent U.S. Census. We believe our directories captured an 86% share of the 2006 total directory advertising spending in the Cincinnati-Hamilton metropolitan area. In 2006, we published fifteen yellow pages directories and distributed over 2.4 million yellow pages directories to businesses and residences. We also offer integrated internet-based directory services to our consumers through the cincinnatibellyellowpages.com web site. In addition, we publish the white pages for Cincinnati Bell Telephone, the incumbent local exchange carrier in the Cincinnati-Hamilton metropolitan area for over 100 years, for whom we distributed 1.0 million copies in 200 6. We generate our revenue primarily through the sale of advertising, and in 2006 had more than 16,000 local advertising customers consisting primarily of small and medium-sized businesses, as well as approximately 1,200 national advertisers.

We acquired our directory publishing business in March 2002 from Cincinnati Bell Inc., the owner and operator of Cincinnati Bell Telephone. The acquisition has been accounted for under the purchase method of accounting.  Our acquisition of the assets and certain liabilities of the directory publishing business from Cincinnati Bell Inc. is referred to herein as the “acquisition.”


In June 2003, we completed a recapitalization which we refer to as the “2003 recapitalization,” which consisted of the following transactions:


·

On June 13, 2003, we entered into a new senior credit facility providing for borrowings in an aggregate principal amount of up to $165.0 million, including a tranche B term loan facility of $160.0 million and a revolving credit facility providing for borrowings of up to $5.0 million.  The tranche B term loan facility was subsequently refinanced in February 2004;


·

On June 13, 2003, we issued $150.0 million of 8-5/8% senior subordinated notes due 2011;


·

On June 13, 2003, we repaid all of the outstanding borrowings under our former credit facility and terminated that facility;



24






·

On June 16, 2003, we paid approximately $2.9 million to terminate an interest rate swap related to our former credit facility; and


·

We made aggregate distributions to our sole equity holder, CBD Holdings, of approximately $128.3 million.


In February 2004, the Company refinanced its tranche B term loan to adjust its interest rate, maturity date, and eliminate the annual principal reduction requirement.  Prior to the refinancing, we made a principal payment of $8.6 million thereby reducing the outstanding principal balance of the B term loan.


In October 2004, our parent, CBD Media Holdings LLC (“CBD Holdings”) completed a recapitalization, which we refer to as the “2004 recapitalization”.  CBD Holdings issued and sold $100.0 million of 9 ¼% senior notes due 2012 which we refer to as the “senior notes”.  In connection with the 2004 recapitalization, we amended the senior credit facility by replacing the existing $130.0 million tranche C term loan with a $153.0 million tranche D term loan.  We distributed approximately $7.0 million of cash on hand and the proceeds of the increased term loan to CBD Holdings.  CBD Holdings then distributed such funds, along with the net proceeds of the senior notes, to its equity holders.

Financial Statement Presentation

Net Revenue.    In 2006 we derived over 92.5% of our net revenue from the sale of advertising in our printed directories, which we refer to as directory advertising revenue. We also provide related services, including internet-based directory advertising, and the production and distribution of the Cincinnati Bell White Pages and the related sale of advertising for Cincinnati Bell Telephone. Growth in advertising revenue is affected by several factors, including growth in the number of advertising customers, increases in the price of advertising, increases in the quantity of advertising purchased per customer and the introduction of additional products that generate incremental revenues. Advertising revenue also may increase through the publication of newly-introduced printed directories.

Our financial statements have been prepared on the basis of the amortization method, meaning revenue and expenses are recognized ratably over the life of each directory (a twelve month period), commencing in the month of delivery. We deliver 76% of our directories, constituting approximately 75% of our annual advertising revenue, in June of a given year, and deliver 24% of our directories constituting approximately 25% of our annual advertising revenue in November of a given year. Revenue from internet advertisements is recognized ratably over the twelve-month period we commit to carry the advertisement.

Adjustments to revenue are primarily for estimated losses due to claims resulting from publication errors, omissions in customer advertising, customer early terminations or other customer complaints.  They are accrued over the time period for which the associated revenues are billed.

Cost of Revenue.    Cost of revenue consists of direct costs associated with the publication of print directories, including sales commissions, paper, printing, transportation, distribution and pre-press production and employee costs relating to each of the foregoing as well as costs of advertising, promotion, marketing, customer billing and collection and internet expenses. Direct costs associated with the publication of print directories are recognized ratably over the life of each directory. Costs not directly associated with the publication of print directories are recognized in the period in which they are incurred.

Cost recognition begins in the month of directory delivery and continues on a pro rated basis over the estimated twelve-month life of each directory and is accounted for under the amortization method. Accordingly, our cost of revenue recognized in a given period consists of (1) cash expenditures incurred in the given period and recognized in the given period, such as advertising, promotion and marketing and customer billing and collection expenses; (2) cash expenditures incurred in a prior period, a portion of which are amortized and recognized in the given period; and (3) cash expenditures incurred in the given period, a portion of which are amortized and recognized in the given period and the balance of which are deferred until future periods. Consequently, there will be a difference between the cost of revenue recognized in any given period and the cash costs incurred in the given period, which difference may be significant.



25





Cincinnati Bell Telephone is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cincinnati Bell Inc., which, through an affiliate, holds an approximately 2.5% equity interest in CBD Holdings. Cincinnati Bell Telephone provides us with billing and collection services pursuant to a contract. Under this contract, we paid Cincinnati Bell Telephone $1.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2006. We had a payable to Cincinnati Bell Telephone of $0.2 million as of December 31, 2006.  For additional information about this contract, see “Business—Billing and Collection Services.”

General and Administrative Expense.    Our general and administrative expense consists of the costs of administrative staff, real estate, information technology, finance, human resources and corporate management and a consulting fee paid to Applegate & Collatos, Inc., an affiliate of Spectrum Equity Investors. All of our general and administrative expense is recognized in the period in which it is incurred.

Depreciation and Amortization Expense.    Our depreciation and amortization expense consists primarily of the amortization of intangible assets and, to a lesser degree, the depreciation of property and equipment. Intangible assets with finite lives are amortized over periods ranging from 10 to 30 years, their estimated useful lives for financial accounting purposes. Property and equipment are depreciated over estimated useful lives of three to five years.

Comparison of Results of Operations for the Years Ended December 31, 2006 and 2005

Net Revenue  Net revenue for the year ended December 31, 2006 was $86.5 million, consisting of $66.1 million of local advertising, $14.2 million of national advertising and $6.2 million in internet advertising.  Net revenue for the year ended December 31, 2005 was $86.8 million, consisting of $68.4 million of local advertising, $14.1 million of national advertising and $4.3 million in internet advertising.  Gross local revenue decreased by $4.4 million which was offset by $2.1 million in favorable adjustments to revenue as a result of reserve adjustments for improved collections on outstanding customer balances.  In addition internet revenue increased $1.9 million.

Adjustments  Adjustments to revenue for estimated losses due to claims resulting from publication errors, omissions in customer advertising, customer early terminations or other customer complaints were $1.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2006 and $3.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2005.  Adjustments as a percentage of total revenue were 1.6% for the year ended December 31, 2006 as compared to 4% for the year ended December 31, 2005.  As previously noted, the difference in adjustments to revenue is due to reserve adjustments for improved collections on outstanding customer balances.  

Cost of Revenue Cost of revenue was $32.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2006 and $32.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2005.  Cost of revenue represented 37.8% of net revenue for the year ended December 31, 2006 and 37.7% of net revenue for the year ended December 31, 2005.  

General and Administrative Expense General and administrative expense was $4.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2006 and $4.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2005.  General and administrative expenses represented 5.2% of net revenue for the year ended December 31, 2006 and 2005.  

Depreciation and Amortization Expense Depreciation and amortization expense was $24.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2006 and $25.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2005.  The decrease is due to the accelerated amortization method for advertiser related intangible assets.

Interest Expense  Interest expense was $24.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2006 and $23.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2005.  The increase is primarily related to the increase in the interest rate on the term loan facility.  

Net Income Net income was $0.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2006 compared to net income of $1.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2005.  The decrease is primarily related to the results described above.  



26





Comparison of Results of Operations for the Years Ended December 31, 2005 and 2004

Net Revenue.   Net revenue for the year ended December 31, 2005 was $86.8 million, consisting of $68.4 million of local advertising, $14.1 million of national advertising and $4.3 million in internet advertising.  Net revenue for the year ended December 31, 2004 was $87.7 million, consisting of $70.4 million of local advertising, $13.5 million of national advertising and $3.8 million in internet advertising.  The decrease is due to lower local revenue in 2005.  The lower local revenues were partially offset by an increase in national and internet revenue.

Adjustments  Adjustments to revenue for estimated losses due to claims resulting from publication errors, omissions in customer advertising, customer early terminations or other customer complaints were $3.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2005 and $4.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2004.  Adjustments as a percentage of total revenue were 4% for the year ended December 31, 2005 as compared to 4.5% for the year ended December 31, 2004.  

Cost of Revenue Cost of revenue was $32.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2005 and $34.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2004.  Cost of revenue represented 37.7% of net revenue for the year ended December 31, 2005 and 39.5% of net revenue for the year ended December 31, 2004.  The decrease is due in part to $1.0 million in lower printing costs as a result of lower revenues.  In addition, in 2004 there were higher marketing costs incurred as management instituted an aggressive advertising program to retain revenue against a new competitor, Verizon, in the market place.  We also incurred $0.9 million of expense relating primarily to a management payout associated with the 2004 recapitalization and certain tax distributions to personnel that are included in the cost of revenue expense classification.

General and Administrative Expense General and administrative expense was $4.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2005 and $7.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2004.  The decrease of approximately $2.8 million relates primarily to a management payout associated with the 2004 recapitalization and certain tax distributions to personnel that are included in the general and administrative expense classification.  In addition, we incurred $1.1 million of professional fees in 2004 in connection with the examination of alternative capital structures.

Depreciation and Amortization Expense Depreciation and amortization expense was $25.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2005 and $25.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2004.  The decrease is due to the accelerated amortization method for advertiser related intangible assets.

Interest Expense  Interest expense was $23.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2005 and $20.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2004.  The increase is related to higher interest rates.

Net Income/Loss Net income was $1.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2005 compared to net loss of $0.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2004.  The increase in net income is primarily related to the results described above.  

 Liquidity and Capital Resources

Our principal source of liquidity has been cash flow generated from operations.  The timing of our cash flows throughout the year is reasonably predictable, as our customers typically pay for their advertisements in equal payments over a twelve-month period.  The payment of our material expenses is based on our contractual arrangements and occurs predictably at set times during the year.  Our primary liquidity requirements have been for debt service on the senior credit facility, the senior subordinated notes and related party notes payable and for working capital needs.  We have historically generated sufficient cash flow to fund our operations and capital expenditures and to make required debt service payments.

Our management believes that cash flow generated from operations will be sufficient to continue to fund our interest and principal payment obligations, working capital requirements and future capital expenditures.  The revolving credit facility provides an additional source of capital to fund these obligations, subject to the restrictions contained in the senior credit facility and the indentures governing the senior notes and senior subordinated notes.  Any future



27





acquisitions may require additional capital, which may be financed through borrowings under the revolving portion of the senior credit facility, the issuance of additional indebtedness or, issuance of equity securities of us or CBD Holdings, net cash provided by operations, other third-party financing or a combination of these alternatives.  Such capital may not be available to us on acceptable terms or at all.


Total capital expenditures were $160,000 and $133,000 in 2006 and 2005, respectively.  We anticipate that the amount of capital expenditures will remain at historical levels and will not significantly increase for the foreseeable future.


Net Cash Provided by (Used in) Operations.  Net cash provided by operations for the year ended December 31, 2006, was $26.4 million as compared to $27.1 million for the same period in 2005.  The difference is primarily related to the increase in accounts receivable with our related party, CBT.  This increase was due in part by the holiday schedule worked and subsequent delay in processing payments.   Net cash provided by operations for the year ended December 31, 2005, was $27.1 million as compared to $27.3 million for the same period in 2004.  The difference is primarily related to the increase in cash paid for interest of $3.7 million and the $0.5 million decrease in the related party payable due to a payment to Cincinnati Bell Telephone, offset by payments of approximately $2.9 million for a management payout associated with the 2004 recapitalization and certain tax distributions, and approximately $1.1 million in professional fees in connection w ith the examination of alternative capital structures.  


Net Cash Provided by (Used in) Financing Activities.  Net cash used in financing activities for the year ended December 31, 2006, was $30.8 million as compared to $28.8 million for the same period in 2005.  The net cash used in financing activities for the 2006 period was the result of pre-payments of $22.0 million on the senior credit facility and distributions to our equity holder of $9.3 million offset by contributions from our equity holder of $0.4 million.  The net cash used in financing activities for the 2005 period was the result of pre-payments of $21.0 million on the senior credit facility and distributions to our equity holder of $8.3 million offset by contributions from our equity holder of $0.5 million.  Net cash used in financing activities for the year ended December 31, 2005, was $28.8 million as compared to $36.0 million for the same period in 2004.  The net cash used by financing activities in the 2004 peri od was the result of pre-payments of $28.6 million on the senior credit facility, distributions to our equity holder of $29.3 million and proceeds from new borrowings of $23.0 million.  

Net Cash Provided by (Used in) Investing Activities. Net cash used in investing activities for the years ended December 31, 2006, 2005 and 2004 was insignificant.  

Indebtedness. In connection with our acquisition of the directory publishing business we incurred indebtedness of $220.0 million under our former credit facility, which was repaid and terminated on June 13, 2003 in connection with the 2003 recapitalization.  On June 13, 2003, we entered into the senior credit facility providing for borrowings in an aggregate principal amount of up to $165.0 million and issued the senior subordinated notes.  The senior credit facility contains financial, negative and affirmative covenants and requirements affecting CBD Holdings, us and our subsidiaries, including the maintenance of ratios measuring consolidated total leverage and consolidated senior leverage to EBITDA (as defined in the senior credit facility) as well as EBITDA (as defined in the senior credit facility) to consolidated interest expense.  The senior credit facility also includes interest rate and similar arrangements that we may enter into with the lenders under the senior credit facility and/or the affiliates of those lenders.  In the February 2004 refinancing, we amended the senior credit facility whereby the $160.0 million tranche B term loan facility was replaced with a $150.0 million tranche C term loan facility.  In connection with the 2004 recapitalization, we executed an amendment to our senior credit facility that, among other things, (i) increased the size of the term loan portion of the senior credit facility by $23.0 million; (ii) replaced the $150.0 million tranche C term loan facility with a $153.0 million tranche D term loan facility; (iii) permitted CBD Holdings to issue the senior notes; (iv) permitted us, so long as there was no default or event of default under the senior credit facility, to make distributions to CBD Holdings necessary to make regularly scheduled payments of interest in respect of the senior notes; (v) so long as there was no default or event of default under the senior credit facility, set aside funds for the distribution t o CBD Holdings’ equity holders of an amount not to exceed $130 million; (vi) deleted from the senior credit facility the requirement that we maintain a “fixed charge coverage ratio” and modified other financial ratios that we were required to maintain; and (vii) made other amendments and modifications to the senior credit facility related to the issuance of the senior notes by CBD Holdings.



28





 

In June 2003, also as part of the 2003 recapitalization, we issued the senior subordinated notes.  Interest is payable on the senior subordinated notes on June 1 and December 1 of each year and the senior subordinated notes will mature on June 1, 2011.  The senior subordinated notes were issued pursuant to an indenture containing financial, negative and affirmative covenants and requirements affecting us and our affiliates, including limits on our ability to incur additional indebtedness, pay distributions or dividends or make other types of restricted payments, sell assets, consolidate, merge, sell or otherwise dispose of all or substantially all of our assets, enter into transactions with affiliates, create liens and enter into new lines of business.

 

Liquidity.  Our ability to make payments on our indebtedness, and to fund our working capital needs and planned capital expenditures will depend upon our ability to generate cash in the future.  This, to an extent, is subject to general economic, financial, competitive, legislative, regulatory and other factors that are beyond our control.  Our liquidity could also be impacted by a decline in usage of printed yellow page directories.  While in the short term any impact could be offset by price increases, in the long term any such impact could limit our ability to meet our financial obligations.


In June and July 2003 as part of the 2003 recapitalization, we made to CBD Holdings, and correspondingly CBD Holdings made to its equity holders, aggregate distributions of approximately $128.3 million.  As part of the 2004 recapitalization, we made distributions to CBD Holdings of approximately $30.0 million, including $7.0 million from available cash.  CBD Holdings paid a distribution to its equity holders of approximately $127.0 million, consisting of the aforementioned $30.0 million received from us together with the net proceeds from the offering of the senior notes.  Employee equity holders received distributions as follows: 50% (approximately $1.3 million) was paid at closing and the remaining 50% (approximately $1.3 million) escrowed subject to time vesting of three years.  In both October 2006 and October 2005, approximately $0.4 million or a total of 66% of the escrowed amount was paid to employee equity holders.  In 2006 and 2005, we made aggregate di stributions of $9.3 million and $8.3 million, respectively, to CBD Holdings in connection with their annual interest payments on the senior notes.  As a result of these distributions, a significant amount of cash is unavailable to make payments on our indebtedness or on the senior notes.  We have had, and expect to continue to have in the future, limited cash and cash equivalents on hand.  Our primary source of liquidity is, and is expected to continue to be, cash flow generated from operations as well as our ability to borrow up to $5.0 million under the revolving portion of the senior credit facility.


Based on our current levels of operations, we believe that our cash flow from operations and available borrowings under the senior credit facility will be adequate to meet our liquidity for the foreseeable future.  We cannot assure you, however, that in the long-term our business will generate sufficient cash flow from operations or that future borrowings will be available to us under the senior credit facility or otherwise in an amount sufficient to enable us to pay our indebtedness or to fund our other liquidity needs.  To the extent that such sources were not adequate to fund our liquidity needs, we would need to raise additional capital, restructure our indebtedness or cut costs in order to lower our liquidity needs.  If we consummate an acquisition, our debt service requirements could increase.  We may need to refinance all or a portion of our indebtedness on or before maturity.  We cannot assure you that we will be able to refinance any of our indebtedness on commercially reasonable terms or at all.  We will require a significant amount of cash to service our debt, and our ability to generate cash depends on many factors beyond our control.


The following tables outline the required financial ratios for CBD Media to be in compliance with the financial covenants of the term loan facility and CBD Media’s ratio as of December 31, 2006:


Period

Leverage Ratio Max.

Leverage Ratio at Dec. 31, 2006

July 1, 2006 through December 31, 2006

7.75 to 1.00

6.96 to 1.00

January 1, 2007 through June 30, 2007

7.50 to 1.00

 

July 1, 2007 through December 31, 2007

7.25 to 1.00

 

January 1, 2008 through June 30, 2008

7.00 to 1.00

 

For each fiscal quarter from July 1, 2008 through December 31, 2009

6.75 to 1.00

 



29








   

Period

Senior Leverage Ratio Max.

Senior Leverage Ratio at Dec. 31, 2006

October 1, 2006 through September 30, 2007

2.75 to 1.00

2.13 to 1.00

For each fiscal quarter from October 1, 2007 through December 31, 2009

2.50 to 1.00

 


Period

Interest Coverage Ratio - Min.

Interest Coverage Ratio at Dec. 31, 2006

For each fiscal quarter from October 1, 2004 through December 31, 2007

1.50 to 1.00

1.64 to 1.00

For each fiscal quarter from January 1, 2008 through December 31, 2009

1.75 to 1.00

 


Advisory agreement.  We are a party to an advisory agreement dated March 7, 2002 and further amended on June 13, 2003, with a related party, Applegate & Collatos, Inc., or ACI.  This advisory agreement requires us to make quarterly payments of $500,000 to ACI and reimburse ACI for its reasonable expenses.  Pursuant to a letter of instruction effective October 1, 2003, ACI directed us to make quarterly payments to CBD Holdings (capped at $500,000) and without additional payments for reimbursements of expenses.  Such quarterly payments were received by CBD Holdings for the period from October 1, 2003 until September 30, 2004, and then paid by CBD Holdings to ACI.  The letter of instruction has been withdrawn and, pursuant to the advisory agreement, we make quarterly payments of $500,000 to ACI directly and will reimburse ACI for reasonable expenses, effective October 1, 2004.



30





Contractual Obligations


The following table is a summary of our contractual obligations (including interest) as of December 31, 2006:


  


‘07


’08-‘09


’10-‘11

’12 and

thereafter

 

Payments Due by Period

 
      


Contractual Obligations


Total

Less than 1

year


1-3 years

(in millions)


3-5 years

More than

5 years

Long-term debt obligations

     

8 ⅝% Senior subordinated notes due 2011 – Principal

$150.0

$---

$---

$150.0

$---

8 ⅝% Senior subordinated notes due 2011 – Interest

58.2

12.9

25.9

19.4

---

Senior credit facility due 2009  - Principal ………..

110.0

---

110.0

---

---

Senior credit facility due 2009 – Interest (1) ………

25.5

8.5

17.0

---

---

Operating leases…………………………………..

0.4

0.1

0.2

0.1

---

Purchase Obligations-

     

L.M. Berry (2)………………………………..

41.9

15.1

26.8

---

---

Cincinnati Bell Telephone (3)………………..

15.0

1.0

2.0

2.0

10.0

Quebecor (4) …………………………………

36.5

7.3

14.6

14.6

---

Advisory Agreement (5) …………………….

8.0

2.0

4.0

2.0

---

DDA (6) ……………………………………..

     1.7

     1.7

     ---

      ---

       ---

Total (7)……………………………………………

$447.2

$48.6

$ 200.5

$188.1

$10.0


(1)  The Company does not believe it has the ability to accurately predict the future interest rate for the variable rate debt.  The Company has presented the anticipated interest at 7.73%, its interest rate at December 31, 2006.  As a portion of our debt bears a variable interest rate, changes in market rates for interest rates can impact our interest expense.  For example, holding the amount of senior credit facility debt outstanding constant, a one percentage point increase in the interest rate would have caused an estimated increase in interest expense of $1.1 million.  Failure to comply with our financial covenants, scheduled interest payments, scheduled principal repayments or any other items of our credit facility could result in the acceleration of the maturity of outstanding debt.


(2)  We have outsourced our direct sales effort to L.M. Berry and Company (a subsidiary of Bell South Corporation).  Our directory advertising and marketing agreement with L. M. Berry expires in August 2009.  As the required as specified under the contract are variable, we have estimated future payments based on actual payments made to L. M. Berry during the year ended December 31, 2006.


(3)   We entered into a billing and collection services operating agreement with Cincinnati Bell Telephone, the local exhange carrier subsidiary of Cincinnati Bell Inc.  This operating agreement will continue until March 2012, with an automatic renewal for a subsequent ten-year period unless we elect to terminate the agreement prior to the end of the initial term.   As the required payments as specified under the contract are variable, we have estimated future payments based on actual payments made to Cincinnati Bell Telephone during the year ended December 31, 2006.   Estimated future payments assume the automatic renewal provision as stated in the agreement.


(4)  Quebecor World Directory Sales Corporation prints all of our directories.  Our current contract with Quebecor expires on December 31, 2011, at which time the contract may be extended by mutual agreement for up to two additional years.  As the required payments as specified under the contract are variable, we have estimated future payments based on actual payments made to Quebecor during the year ended December 31, 2006.   


(5)  We have entered into an advisory agreement with a related party for management services provided to the Company.  We have assumed renewal of the agreement which contemplates annual payments of $2 million.  The annual payments expected have not been disclosed in the table for periods beyond five years.



31





(6)

We have entered into a directory agreement with Directory Distributing Associates, Inc. to distribute our printed directories and other collateral advertising material in our service territories.  The agreement will continue until December 31, 2007.  As the required payments as specified under the contract are variable, we have estimated future payments based on actual payments made to DDA during the year ended December 31, 2006.


(7)

CBD Media intends to make distributions to CBD Media Holdings in a sufficient amount to allow CBD Media Holdings to make their annual interest payments of $9.25 million on the $100 million of 9 ¼% senior notes due 2012.  

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

Our discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations are based upon our financial statements, which have been prepared in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. The application of these principles requires that in certain instances we make estimates and assumptions regarding future events that impact the reported amount of assets and liabilities and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities as of the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Predicting future events is inherently an imprecise activity and as such requires the use of judgments. On an ongoing basis, we review the basis for our estimates and will make adjustments based on historical experience, current and anticipated economic conditions, accepted actuarial valuation methodologies or other factors that we consider to be reasonable under the ci rcumstances. There can be no assurance that actual results will not differ from those estimates.

We consider the following policies to be important in understanding the judgments involved in preparing our financial statements and the uncertainties that could affect our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

Revenue recognition.    The sale of advertising in telephone directories published by us is our primary source of revenue. We recognize revenues ratably over the life of each directory using the deferral and amortization method, with revenue recognition commencing in the month of delivery.

Revenue from internet advertisements is recognized ratably over the twelve-month period we commit to carry the advertisement.

Cost of revenue.    Direct costs related to the publication of print directories, including sales commissions, paper, printing, transportation, distribution and pre-press production and employee costs relating to each of the foregoing are recognized ratably over the life of each directory under the deferral and amortization method, with cost recognition commencing in the month of delivery.

Allowance for sales adjustments.   Adjustments to revenue are primarily for estimated losses due to claims resulting from publication errors, omissions in customer advertising, customer early terminations or other customer complaints.  They are accrued over the time period for which the associated revenues are billed.

Vendor incentives.    We have long-term contracts with certain vendors under which the vendors pay cash incentives to us for entering into the contracts. These incentives are recorded as deferred income and amortized as a reduction of cost of revenue over the related contract terms. The amount of deferred vendor incentives that are expected to be amortized within one year are recorded as a current liability within other current liabilities. The remaining portion of deferred vendor incentives are recorded within other long-term liabilities.

Goodwill and other intangible assets.    Recorded goodwill is not amortized, but is tested for impairment at least annually. All other finite lived intangible assets are amortized over their useful lives and are reviewed for impairment in accordance with SFAS No. 144.



32





Forward-Looking Statements


This annual report on Form 10-K includes “forward-looking” statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties.  All statements other than statements of historical facts included in this report that address activities, events or development that we expect, believe or anticipate will or may occur in the future are forward-looking statements.  Forward-looking statements give our current expectations and projections relating to our financial condition, results of operations, plans, objectives, future performance and business.  You can identify there statements by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts.  These statements may include words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “predict,” “project,” and other words and terms of similar meaning in connection with an y discussion of the timing or nature of future operating or financial performance or other events.


These forward-looking statements are based on our expectations and beliefs concerning future events affecting us.  Factors which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by us in those statements include, among others, the following:


·

a declining or stagnating usage of printed yellow page directors or a decrease in the number of businesses that advertise with us;


·

our ability to maintain relationships with third-party service providers;


·

our relationship with Cincinnati Bell Telephone;


·

our lack of geographic diversity;


·

the effect of competition in local telephone service on Cincinnati Bell Telephone’s current dominant position in the local market;


·

a decline in the dominance of Cincinnati Bell Telephone;


·

any fluctuations in the price of paper;


·

the effect of extending credit to small and medium-sized businesses;


·

a decline in the performance of third-party certified marketing representatives;


·

our ability to maintain assets sufficient to satisfy our creditors’ outstanding claims;


·

the retention of key employees;


·

any national and local economic and business conditions that affect advertising expenditures by businesses and individuals as well as consumer trends in the usage of our principal product; and


·

the divergence of the interest of Spectrum Equity Investors and our other investors.


Although we believe the expectations reflected in our forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, we can give no assurance that we will attain these expectations or that any deviations will not be material.  Except as otherwise required by the federal securities laws, we disclaim any obligation or undertaking to publicly release any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statement contained in this annual report on Form 10-K to reflect any change in our expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.



33





ITEM 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURE ABOUT MARKET RISK

Our former credit facility required us in specific instances to hedge the interest rate portion of our variable rate debt.

 

Interest on the senior subordinated notes issued is charged at a fixed rate. As of December 31, 2006, approximately 58% of our total outstanding debt has a fixed interest rate. Interest rate changes generally do not affect the market value of floating rate debt but do impact the amount of our interest payments and our future earnings and cash flows. Conversely, for fixed rate debt, interest rate changes do not impact future cash flows and earnings, but do impact the fair market value of such debt.  As a portion of our debt bears a variable interest rate, changes in market rates for interest can impact our operating results and cash flows.  For example, holding the amount of senior credit facility debt outstanding constant, a one percentage point increase in interest rates would have caused an estimated decrease in annual pre-tax earnings and cash flows of $1.1 million.

ITEM 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA

The Financial Statements and Supplementary Data required by this item is filed as part of this Form 10-K.  See Index to Financial Statement Information at page F-1 of this Form 10-K.

ITEM 9. CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS ON ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE

Not applicable.

ITEM 9A. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES

The management of CBD Media is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting.  CBD Media’s internal control system was designed to provide reasonable assurance to the Company’s management and board of directors regarding the preparation and fair presentation of published financial statements.  


All internal control systems, no matter how well designed, have inherent limitation.  Therefore, even those systems determined to be effective can provide only reasonable assurance with respect to financial statement preparation and presentation.  


An internal control material weakness is a significant deficiency or aggregation of deficiencies, that does not reduce to a relatively low level the risk that material misstatements in financial statements will be prevented or detected on a timely basis by employees in the normal course of their work.  An internal control over financial reporting significant deficiency, or aggregation of deficiencies, is one that could result in a misstatement of the financial statements that is more than inconsequential.  


The management of CBD Media assessed the effectiveness of the company’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2006, and this assessment identified the following material weakness in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting.


The Company determined that the accounting, auditing, control, and oversight functions regarding its financial statements and financial reporting obligations was too centralized to provide adequate and effective controls.  Because of the over-centralization of these functions, the Company determined that the possibility of material misstatements going undetected was greater than a relatively low level.  In order to address this weakness, management will review de-centralizing the preparation and review of its financial statements and reports.  


Because of the material weakness described in the preceding paragraph, management believes that as of December 31, 2006, the Company’s internal control over financial reporting was not effective.



34





ITEM 9B. OTHER INFORMATION

None.

PART III

ITEM 10. DIRECTORS AND EXECUTIVE OFFICERS OF CBD MEDIA

The following table sets forth certain information with respect to each of our executive officers and directors.

Name

Age

As of 12/31/06

Position

Douglas A. Myers……………………………

46

President and Chief Executive Officer and Director

John P. Schwing……………………………..

50

Vice President—Finance and Administration and
Chief Financial Officer

David D. Miller………………………………

46

Vice President—Sales and Operations

Brion B. Applegate………………………….

53

Director

Benjamin M. Coughlin………………………

34

Director


Douglas A. Myers became our President and Chief Executive Officer in March 2002. Previously, he was President and Chief Executive Officer of our predecessor, Cincinnati Bell Directory, from February 1999 until March 2002, and also served as Vice President—Business Market Operations for Cincinnati Bell Telephone and Cincinnati Bell Inc. from November 2000 to March 2002. Additionally, he served as Vice President—Sales & Marketing and Director—Marketing & Operations with Cincinnati Bell Directory from 1992 to 1999 and prior to that, he held a variety of marketing and management positions at Cincinnati Bell Telephone beginning in 1982. Mr. Myers has been a director since the acquisition.

John P. Schwing became our Vice President of Finance and Administration and Chief Financial Officer in March 2002. Previously, Mr. Schwing was the Vice President of Finance and Administration for Cincinnati Bell Directory from 1992 through March 2002. Mr. Schwing has also had financial responsibility for Cincinnati Bell Messaging Services from 1994 to 1995, Cincinnati Bell Long Distance in 2000, as well as the Information Technology, Human Resources, Legal, Regulatory Affairs, and Public Affairs operating units for Cincinnati Bell Telephone in 2001.

David D. Miller became our Vice President—Sales and Operations in March 2002. Mr. Miller joined Cincinnati Bell Directory in 1989 where he served as Director of Yellow Pages Operations from April 1999 until March 2002. He also served as Director-Print Media and Operations, Senior Manager Manufacturing and Distribution, in addition to other product management and business planning management positions.

Brion B. Applegate co-founded Spectrum Equity Investors in 1993, and serves as general partner of various partnerships affiliated with Spectrum. Prior to forming Spectrum, he began his career in the private equity industry in 1979. Mr. Applegate is currently a director of Nassau Broadcasting Partners, Inc., and prior directorships include American Cellular Corp., H.O. Systems, Inc., and PriCellular Corp. He is also President and a director of CBD Investor and a director of CBD Holdings. Mr. Applegate has been a director since the acquisition.

Benjamin M. Coughlin is a Managing Director at Spectrum Equity Investors, which he joined in 1997. Prior to Spectrum, Mr. Coughlin worked as an Associate at Apax Partners in Munich, Germany, where he was involved with later-stage and buyout opportunities in the technology and information services industries. Mr. Coughlin serves as a director of Apprise Media LLC and AMC Entertainment, Inc.  He is also Secretary and a director of CBD Investor and a director of CBD Holdings. Mr. Coughlin has been a director since the acquisition.



35





Audit Committee Financial Expert

Our Board of Directors has not established an audit committee of the Board.  Our Board has determined that we have at least one “audit committee financial expert” (with the meaning of Item 401(h) of Regulation S-K) serving on the Board of Directors, and that director Benjamin M. Coughlin is such an audit committee financial expert.  Mr. Coughlin is not “independent” (as that is used in Item 7(d)(3)(iv) of Schedule 14A under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934).

Code of Ethics

CBD Media has adopted a code of ethics that applies to its executive officers.  A copy of the code of ethics will be provided to any person without charge.  Requests should be made in writing to Douglas Myers at CBD Media LLC, 312 Plum Street, Suite 900, Cincinnati, OH  45202.

ITEM 11. EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION

COMPENSATION DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS

Our Board of Directors is responsible for developing the executive compensation principles, policies and programs for all of our named executive officers.  The compensation committee of the Board of Directors is responsible for determining the compensation to be paid to our executive officers and for the performance review of the chief executive officer.  

Our compensation programs are designed to provide our executive officers with market salaries and the opportunity to earn incentive compensation related to performance expectations identified by our Board of Directors.  The primary objectives of the executive compensation program are to (i) support and promote the success and enhance our value by linking the personal interests of our executives to our success; (ii) provide such persons with an incentive for outstanding individual and corporate performance; and (iii) provide flexibility to motivate, attract and retain the services of executive officers upon whose judgment, interest and effort our success is largely dependent.

In deciding on the type and amount of compensation for each executive, we focus on current pay and the opportunity for future compensation.  We seek to set compensation levels for our executive officers at levels which are competitive with levels for executives with similar roles and responsibilities within similar businesses in regards to size, industry and structure.  We utilize compensation and benefits surveys which allow the Board of Directors to compare compensation and benefit levels for our officers to those of these other businesses.  

We believe that the compensation of our executive officers should be a mix of base salary and a large portion of performance based compensation.  Therefore, the compensation of our executive officers is broken down into three main pieces: (i) base salary; (ii) annual cash incentive compensation, and (iii) equity interest in CBD Investor and CBD Holdings.  The executive officers also receive minimal other consideration, including participation in the benefit plans open to all employees.  This mix of compensation allows us to provide a stable base of compensation for the executives, while having the flexibility to immediately reward any executives who perform extremely well, and encouraging the executives to focus on our long-term success.  

Base salaries.  Each of our executive officers have an employment agreement that sets forth the baseline annual compensation for each officer.  The employment agreements set forth minimum base salaries which the executive officers are eligible to receive.  However, these salaries are re-examined each year by the compensation committee, and may be increased depending on the performance of the executive and the competitive market for executive officers.  The compensation committee did not authorize any increases from the amounts set forth in the employment agreements in 2006.  

Annual cash incentive compensation.  Each of our executive officers may earn bonuses if they meet certain, pre-established goals set by the compensation committee and approved by the Board of Directors.  The incentive awards are based objective metrics valuing our performance and may be augmented at the discretion of the compensation



36





committee, as approved by the Board of Directors.  We do not feel it is appropriate to divulge the specific target levels that must be achieved in order for each officer to obtain their incentive awards because it will disadvantage the company by providing our competitors with material confidential information.  However, the awards approved by the Board of Directors vary in their expected attainability.  We expect the officers to obtain some of the performance goals, but the others that will push the bonus to higher levels will only be achieved on exceptional performance by the executive officers.  

The compensation committee has not considered whether it would adjust or attempt to recover incentive compensation paid to our executive officers if the performance objectives upon which such compensation were based were to be restated or otherwise adjusted in a manner that would have the effect of reducing the amounts payable or paid.  However, in accordance with Section 304 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, if we are required to restate our financial statements due to our material noncompliance with any financial reporting requirement under the federal securities laws, as a result of our misconduct, our chief executive officer and chief financial officer are legally required to reimburse us for any bonus or other incentive-based or equity-based compensation he or they received from us during the 12-month period following the first public issuance or filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission of the financial document embodying such financial reporting requirement, as well as any profits they realize from the sale of securities during this 12-month period.

Equity compensation.  The equity compensation of the executive officers has two parts.  The first part is a grant of membership interest in CBD Holdings that vests over the term of each officer's employment agreement.  This piece of the compensation mix provides the executive officers' a direct interest in our success, and the vesting provision helps to ensure that the officers remain with us for an extended period of time.  The second piece of the equity compensation is distributions of equity interests in CBD Investor pursuant to the management incentive plan described below.  This component provides for additional incentive for our officers, while tying that incentive to the overall success of CBD Media and CBD Investor.  The distributions over time vary with our performance, and create an incentive for the officers to remain with us.  

Other compensation.  We provide our executive officers with other benefits reflected in the All Other Compensation Column in the Summary Compensation Table.  We believe these benefits are reasonable, competitive and consistent with our overall executive compensation program.  The costs of these benefits represents only a small percentage of each named executive officer's total compensation.  

Triggering of change of control and termination payments.  The employment agreements of the executive officers provides for payments and/or vesting of benefits under certain circumstances in connection with termination of employment and a change in the control of CBD Holdings.  The triggering events for payments and vesting of benefits in the various agreements and plans are relatively common for agreements and plans of this nature and are designed to provide for fair treatment of the participants under the various circumstances and to reasonably reward the participants for their loyalty and commitment to us.  

Tax deductibility of compensation.  Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code generally denies a deduction for compensation in excess of $1million paid to certain executive officers, unless certain performance, disclosure and shareholder approval requirements are met.  The awards mentioned above are intended to qualify as "performance-based" compensation not subject to the Section 162(m) deduction limitation.  The compensation committee believes that a substantial portion of compensation awarded under our compensation program would be exempted from the $1 million limitation should any officer's compensation exceed that amount.  

Compensation Committee Report

Our compensation committee has reviewed and discussed the Compensation Discussion and Analysis with management, and based on the review and discussions, the compensation committee recommended to our Board of Directors that the Compensation Discussion and Analysis be included in this annual report.  

The members of the compensation committee are:  Brion B. Applegate, Benjamin M. Coughlin and Douglas A. Myers.



37





The following table sets forth information with respect to compensation for services in all capacities for the last three fiscal years paid to our President and Chief Executive Officer and our two other most highly compensated executive officers serving as executive officers on December 31, 2006, whom we refer to as the Named Executive Officers.

 

Summary Compensation Table

Name and Principal Position

Year

Salary

Equity Awards

Non-Equity Incentive Plan Compensation

All Other
Compensation(1)

Total

Doug A. Myers,

President and Chief Executive Officer

2006

$425,000

$233,151

$175,000

$38,009

$871,160

      

John P. Schwing

Vice President of Finance and Administration

2006

$265,000

$66,513

$90,000

$22,237

$443,050

      

David D. Miller

Vice President of Sales and Operations

2006

$180,000

$51,480

$90,000

$18,126

$321,461

      


__________

(1)

This represents amounts for personal life insurance, auto allowance, company 401K match, reimbursement for professional fees and certain social memberships.


GRANT OF PLAN-BASED AWARDS

Name











Grant Date










Estimated Future Payouts Under Non-Equity Incentive Plan Awards

All Other Equity awards: Number of Shares of Stock or Units (#)


Exercise or Base Price of Option Awards ($/sh)






Grant Date Fair Value of Stock and Option Awards




Threshold ($)






Target ($)






Maximum ($)






Douglas A. Myers,

 President and Chief Executive Officer



2/10/06



3,000



150,000



225,000



N/A



N/A



N/A

John P. Schwing

 Vice President of Finance and Administration




2/10/06




1,500




75,000




112,500




N/A




N/A




N/A

David D. Miller

Vice President of Sales and Operations



2/10/06



1,500



75,000



112,500



N/A



N/A



N/A

N/A – not applicable

On January 10, 2006, the compensation committee set the following target amounts which were achieved and subsequently paid on February 16, 2007 for the employees listed above:  Douglas A. Myers $175,000, John P. Schwing $90,000 and David D. Miller $90,000.



38





MANAGEMENT INCENTIVE PLAN

In connection with the 2003 recapitalization, CBD Investor, an affiliate of Spectrum, established an incentive compensation program for employees of CBD Media, who held equity interests in CBD Holdings at the time of the prior recapitalization.  Pursuant to the program, CBD Investor agreed to provide an incentive pool to these employees of up to $4,000,000.  This incentive amount is subject to vesting over a five-year period and is not payable unless and until a sale by CBD Media of 50% or more of its assets to a third party, a sale by CBD Investor of 50% or more of its interests in CBD Holdings to a third party, a sale by CBD Holdings of 50% or more of the equity interests in CBD Media to a third party of a sale by affiliates of Spectrum of 50% or more of CBD Media purchase such interests (a “Spectrum exit event”).  Additionally, in order for any incentive amount to be payable, the aggregate value of the employees’ Class C units of CBD Holdings must equal or exceed a threshold amount, but may not exceed a ceiling amount at the time of the Spectrum exit event.  The amount of the incentive pool actually payable at a Spectrum exit event will be determined by subtracting the total value of the employees’ equity from the ceiling amount, but in no event shall the incentive pool exceed $4,000,000 in the aggregate.  The current threshold and ceiling amounts are $8,600,000 and $13,250,000 respectively.  Upon consummation of the offering of the outstanding notes the threshold and ceiling amounts were reduced by the distributions received on the Class C units made upon completion of the offering.  The threshold and ceiling amounts are subject to further reduction in the event distributions are made on the Class C units in the future, other than tax distributions.  The incentive pool, if payable, will be allocated among the employees based on their relative percentage ownership in CBD Holdings.  For administrativ e reasons, such amounts will actually be paid by us and CBD Investor will fund all amounts payable through contributions to CBD Holdings, which in turn will be contributed to us.

CBD Investor has also agreed that upon a Spectrum exit event, if the value of the Class C units held by employees is between the threshold and ceiling amounts as described above, then CBD Investor will pay Mr. Schwing an amount equal to $350,000.  For administrative reasons, such amounts will actually be paid by us, and CBD Investor will fund all amounts payable through contributions to CBD Holdings, which in turn will be contributed to us.

OUTSTANDING EQUITY AWARDS AT YEAR END


 

Stock Awards

Name and Position

 

Market Value of Shares or Units that have not Vested ($)(1)

Equity Incentive Plan Awards:  Number of Unearned Shares, Units or other Rights that have not Vested (#)

Equity Incentive Plan Awards:  Market or Payout Value of Unearned Shares, Units or other Rights that have not Vested ($)(1)

Douglas A. Myers,

President and Chief Executive Officer



0


0


0

John P. Schwing,

Vice President of Finance and Administration

 


0


201


0

David D. Miller,

Vice President of Sales and Operations

 


0


0


0


(1)  The market value of the units held by management are deemed to be 0, as the units have restrictions which prohibit the transfer ability of the units until a sale by an affiliate of Spectrum, thus making no viable market for these securities available.  The following represents the percentage ownership for the management listed above:  Douglas A. Myers 1.6%, John P. Schwing .5%, and David D. Miller .4%.



39





NON-QUALIFIED DEFERRED COMPENSATION

Name and Position

Executive Contributions in Last Fiscal Year ($)

Registrant Contributions in Last Fiscal Year ($)

Aggregate Earnings in Last Fiscal Year ($)

Aggregate Withdrawals/ Distributions ($)

Aggregate Balance at Last Fiscal Year End ($)

Douglas A. Myers,

President and Chief Executive Officer



50,300



25,150



22,023



0



258,214

John P. Schwing,

Vice President of Finance and Administration




30,400




15,200




13,067




0




154,003

David D. Miller,

Vice President of Sales and Operations



21,900



10,950



6,653



0



82,181


RESTRICTIONS ON EMPLOYEE DISTRIBUTIONS

In connection with the October 2004 recapitalization, holders of the Class C units in CBD Holdings were eligible to receive $2.6 million of distributions, $1.3 million of which was paid immediately.  The holders of Class C units will generally vest in and be paid the remaining distributions over a three-year period on each anniversary of the recapitalization subject to continued employment with CBD Media.  In both October 2006 and October 2005, CBD Holdings paid $0.4 million to holders of the Class C units.  Upon termination of employment the holder of Class C units will forfeit any unpaid distributions and the forfeited amount will be allocated among the remaining Class C unit holders.  The holders of Class C units will fully vest in the remaining unpaid distributions upon a change in control.  The amount of the distributions is charged to expense over the vesting period.

EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENTS

Douglas A. Myers Employment Agreement

Under an amended and restated employment agreement entered into with us in connection with the acquisition and subsequent recapitalization, Mr. Myers was retained to serve as our Chief Executive Officer. Under the agreement, Mr. Myers is entitled to receive a minimum base salary in the following amounts through 2008: $350,000 (2004); $400,000 (2005); $425,000 (2006); $450,000 (2007); and $475,000 (2008).  Mr. Myers is also entitled to a bonus under our incentive bonus compensation plan in the following minimum bonus amounts if certain targets are obtained: $125,000 (2004); $150,000 (2005); $175,000 (2006); $200,000 (2007); and $225,000 (2008). Under the agreement, Mr. Myers is entitled to participate during the term of the agreement in medical, health, retirement, welfare and insurance plans available to our senior executives and is entitled to receive from us a matching contribution to his 401(k) plan and life and disability insurance coverage. Mr . Myers is also entitled to an allowance for use of an automobile and reimbursement of up to $5,000 a year for personal financial and estate planning services (plus taxes incurred), up to $10,000 in legal fees incurred in the negotiation of the employment agreement and up to $25,000 for his initial membership fees to a country club, as well as certain annual membership dues. Under the agreement, Mr. Myers was granted a 1.25% membership interest on a fully diluted basis in CBD Holdings, subject to a vesting schedule of 25% of the interests per year. The agreement continues until September 2008. We are obligated to make a severance payment to him of up to two times his then-current base salary and target bonus under the terms of the agreement in the event Mr. Myers’ employment is terminated without cause or if he resigns for good reason.

John P. Schwing Employment Agreement

Under an employment agreement entered into with us in connection with the acquisition and subsequent recapitalization, John Schwing was retained to serve as our Vice President—Finance & Administration and Chief Financial Officer. Under the agreement, Mr. Schwing is entitled to receive a minimum base salary in the following amount through 2008: $200,000 (2004); $225,000 (2005); $240,000 (2006); $260,000 (2007); and $285,000 (2008).



40





Mr. Schwing is also entitled to a bonus under our incentive bonus compensation plan in the following minimum amounts if certain targets are obtained: $63,000 (2004); $75,000 (2005); $88,000 (2006); $100,000 (2007); and $115,000 (2008). Under the agreement, Mr. Schwing is entitled to participate during the term of the agreement in medical, health, retirement, welfare and insurance plans available to our employees and is entitled to receive from us a matching contribution to his 401(k) plan and life and disability insurance coverage. Mr. Schwing is also entitled to an allowance for use of an automobile. Under the employment agreement, Mr. Schwing was granted a 0.276% membership interest on a fully diluted basis in CBD Holdings, subject to a vesting schedule of 25% of the interests per year. The employment agreement continues until September 2008. Mr. Schwing is prohibited from competing with us during the term of his employment and for a period of one-yea r following termination of his employment. We are obligated to make a severance payment to him of up to one times his then-current base salary and target bonus under the terms of the agreement in the event Mr. Schwing’s employment is terminated without cause.

David D. Miller Employment Agreement

Under an employment agreement entered into with us in connection with the acquisition and subsequent recapitalization, David Miller is entitled to receive a minimum base salary in the followings amounts through 2008:  $150,000 (2004); $165,000 (2005); $180,000 (2006); $190,000 (2007); and $200,000 (2008).  Mr. Miller is also entitled to a bonus under our incentive bonus compensation plan in the following amounts if certain targets are obtained:  $63,000 (2004); $75,000 (2005); $88,000 (2006); $100,000 (2007); and $115,000 (2008). Under the agreement, Mr. Miller is entitled to participate during the term of the agreement in medical, health, retirement, welfare and insurance plans available to our employees and is entitled to receive from us a matching contribution to his 401(k) plan and life and disability insurance coverage. Mr. Miller is also entitled to an allowance for use of an automobile. Under the employment agreement, Mr. Miller was granted a 0.276% membership interest on a fully diluted basis in CBD Holdings, subject to a vesting schedule of 25% of the interests per year. The employment agreement continues until September 2008. Mr. Miller is prohibited from competing with us during the term of his employment and for a period of one-year following termination of his employment. We are obligated to make a severance payment to him of up to one times his then-current base salary and target bonus under the terms of the agreement in the event Mr. Miller’s employment is terminated without cause.

401(K) AND PROFIT SHARING PLAN

CBD Media currently sponsors a defined contribution benefit plan covering substantially all management and occupational employees.  The company has 100% participation by all employees.  Under the plan, employees may contribute a percentage of their annual compensation to the plan up to a maximum percentage identified in the plan.  The annual dollar contribution by the employees is limited to a maximum amount determined by the Internal Revenue Service.  CBD Media matches a percentage of employee contributions, and those funds are invested by each employee in a variety of investment options with the plan’s administrator.  CBD Media contributed its share of matching contributions to the plan amounting to $79,000 in 2006 and $75,000 in 2005.

Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan

Effective January 1, 2004, CBD Media established a supplemental executive retirement plan (SERP), which is a non-qualified deferred compensation plan.  Participants may elect to defer receipt of compensation under the SERP until termination of employment, death, disability, change of control (unless assumed by a successor) or termination of the SERP.  CBD Media contributes a matching contribution equal to 50% of the participant’s compensation deferral.  The participants’ deferrals and CBD Media’s contributions are credited with interest equal to the greater of (1) 5% or (2) the prime rate plus 2%.  The SERP is an unfunded plan, as no assets have been set aside for the benefit of participants.  As a result, participants only have an unsecured unfunded promise to pay and will be treated as general unsecured creditors in the event of the insolvency or bankruptcy of CBD Media.  The financing transactions did not const itute a change of control under the SERP.

ITEM 12. SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT

All of the issued and outstanding equity interests of CBD Media LLC are owned by CBD Holdings. CBD Investor, which is owned by certain affiliates of Spectrum Equity Investors, owns membership interests in CBD Holdings that



41





represent approximately 95% of the economic interests of CBD Holdings (assuming full vesting of the issued and outstanding Class C units) and 100% of the voting power of CBD Holdings. The remainder of the membership interests in CBD Holdings are owned by Cincinnati Bell Inc. Holdings, an affiliate of Cincinnati Bell Inc., Douglas A. Myers, John P. Schwing, David D. Miller and other members of our management. CBD Media is the sole stockholder of CBD Finance, Inc.  The following table sets forth information with respect to the beneficial ownership of the membership units of CBD Holdings as of March 9, 2007, by:

·

each person known to own beneficially more than 5% of any class of CBD Holdings’ membership units;

·

each of our directors and Named Executive Officers; and

·

all of our directors and executive officers as a group.

Each unitholder possesses sole voting and investment power with respect to the units listed, unless otherwise noted. Unless otherwise noted, the address of each unitholder is c/o CBD Media LLC, 312 Plum Street, Suite 900, Cincinnati, Ohio 45202.

 

                                                   Units                                                     

 
 

          Class A           

          Class B            

        Class C(1)        

 

Name of Beneficial Owner

Number of
Units
Beneficially
Owned

Percent

of Class

Number of
Units
Beneficially
Owned

Percent
of Class

Number of
Units
Beneficially
Owned

Percent
of Class

Percent of
Total
Voting
Power

CBD Investor, Inc.(2)

  491,137

  97.44%

  267,818

  97.44%

  —

  —  

  100.00%

Brion B. Applegate(3)(5)

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —  

  —

Benjamin M. Coughlin(4)(5)

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —  

  —

Douglas A. Myers

  —

  —

  —

  —

12,500

51.28%

  —

John P. Schwing

  —

  —

  —

  —

3,566

 14.63%

  —

David D. Miller

  —

  —

  —

  —

2,760

  11.32%

  —

All directors and executive officers as a group

  —

  —

  —

  —

18,826

  77.23%

  —



(1)

Holders of Class C units are not entitled to vote with respect to their Class C units. The number of units indicated reflects all issued and outstanding Class C units each of which have vested as of March 9, 2007.  John Schwing was granted 806 Class C units on June 13, 2003.  100% of these units have vested.

(2)

Spectrum Equity Investors III, L.P., SEI III Entrepreneurs’ Fund, L.P. Spectrum III Investment Managements’ Fund, L.P., Spectrum Equity Investors IV, L.P., Spectrum Equity Investors Parallel IV, L.P., and Spectrum IV Investment Manager’s Fund, L.P. (the “Spectrum Partnerships”) collectively own all of the outstanding shares of CBD Investor.  The address for each of these entities is c/o Spectrum Equity Investors, 333 Middlefield Road, Suite 200, Menlo Park, California, 94025.

(3)

 Mr. Applegate is also a general partner of two of the Spectrum Partnerships and a general partner of each of the general partners of the other four Spectrum Partnerships. He is also President and a director of CBD Investor. Voting and disposition of the membership units owned by CBD Investor is controlled indirectly by the general partners of the Spectrum Partnerships, and requires the approval of two or more individual general partners. In his capacity as general partner, Mr. Applegate may be deemed to share beneficial ownership of the membership units shown as beneficially owned by CBD Investor, but disclaims such beneficial ownership.

(4)

Mr. Coughlin is also Secretary and a director of CBD Investor. He does not directly or indirectly have or share voting or investment power or have or share the ability to influence voting or investment power over the membership units shown as beneficially owned by CBD Investor.

(5)   The address for this director is c/o Spectrum Equity Investors, 333 Middlefield Road, Suite 200, Menlo Park, California, 94025.



42





ITEM 13. CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS

Limited Liability Company Agreement of CBD Media Holdings

In connection with the acquisition of the directory publishing business of Cincinnati Bell Directory, CBD Investor, Inc. (an entity controlled by the Spectrum entities and of which Brion B. Applegate and Benjamin A. Coughlin are directors), Broadwing Holdings Inc., Douglas A. Myers, John P. Schwing, David D. Miller and our other management employees (who we collectively refer to as “management members”) entered into a limited liability company agreement for CBD Holdings, which is the sole member of our company. The limited liability company agreement of CBD Holdings defines the members’ rights with respect to voting, ownership and transfer of their interests in CBD Holdings. The limited liability company agreement allocates the membership interests in CBD Holdings among these parties. CBD Investor and Cincinnati Bell Inc. Holdings both hold interests in two classes of membership units, and management members hold interests in a separate class of un its. CBD Investor is the only party that is entitled to vote with respect to its units. Approval of actions of CBD Holdings requiring a vote of a group of members must receive a majority vote of the particular class(es) of members entitled to vote. Under this agreement, CBD Investor and Cincinnati Bell Inc. Holdings have made capital contributions to CBD Holdings for which they will not be entitled to receive interest paid on such contributions. Certain amendments of the CBD Holdings limited liability company agreement which adversely and/or disproportionately affect the interests of Cincinnati Bell Inc. Holdings and/or the management members require the consent of Cincinnati bell Inc. Holdings and/or management members.

The voting members of CBD Holdings elect three directors to its board. Currently, the directors of CBD Holdings are Brion B. Applegate, Benjamin M. Coughlin and Douglas A. Myers. To date, no independent director has been appointed to CBD Holdings’ board.

No members of CBD Holdings may transfer their membership interests if the transfer causes a termination of CBD Holdings for income tax purposes, causes CBD Holdings to become a publicly traded partnership under the Internal Revenue Code, subjects CBD Holdings to regulations under the Investment Company Act of 1940, the Investment Advisors Act of 1940 or ERISA laws or violates applicable laws, unless the voting members of CBD Holdings authorize a transfer by majority vote. Unless a transfer is otherwise permitted under the limited liability company agreement, any transfer of membership interests requires approval by the majority vote of the voting members, which approval may be withheld in the sole and absolute discretion of such members.

Tag-along and Drag-along Rights

If the voting members of CBD Holdings elect to sell some or all of their membership interests to a third-party in a transaction that is not a permitted transfer under the limited liability company agreement, the voting members may require all of the other members to sell an equal proportion of their interests to such third-party on the same terms and conditions and the other members shall have the right to require such third-party to purchase an equal proportion of their interests on these terms.

Limited Liability Company Agreement of CBD Media LLC

Our limited liability company agreement defines the rights of our sole member, CBD Holdings, with respect to management, distributions (including tax distributions) and indemnification. Our board is composed of three directors, elected by CBD Holdings, who manage all aspects and decisions of our business and affairs. Currently, the directors are Brion B. Applegate, Benjamin M. Coughlin and Douglas A. Myers. Under the agreement we are obligated to make distributions to CBD Holdings at times and in the aggregate amounts determined by our directors. In addition, we are required to make a tax distribution to CBD Holdings in an amount equal to 44% of our theoretical net taxable income for each fiscal year.

The agreement limits the liability of all of CBD Media’s directors, officers and members to CBD Media and any member of CBD Media for losses incurred on behalf of CBD Media.  In addition, CBD Media is obligated to indemnify any member, officer or director of CBD Media against any liability or loss suffered and expenses reasonably incurred on behalf of CBD Media in good faith.  Indemnification under the agreement is to be provided out of and to the extend of CBD Media’s assets only, and no member of CBD Media has any personal liability with respect to such indemnity.



43





Advisory Agreement

In connection with the acquisition, Applegate & Collatos, Inc., or ACI, a firm co-owned by Brion B. Applegate, one of our directors, was engaged to provide advisory services and financing advice, as well as, financial, managerial and operational advice in connection with our day-to-day operations. Effective as of June 13, 2003, we pay ACI an annual management fee of $2,000,000 for its services, which is payable in quarterly installments, and will reimburse ACI for additional reasonable expenses upon its request.  The agreement is for an indefinite period and may only be terminated or amended by mutual consent of the parties. We agree to indemnify and hold harmless ACI and its affiliates, officers, partners, directors, employees, agents and other controlling persons from losses arising in connection with the acquisition or the engagement to provide advice under the agreement to us. We also agreed that the indemnified persons will not be liable to us or ou r security holders or creditors as a result of the engagement or the performance of services unless such losses are determined by a judge to have resulted from such person’s bad faith or gross negligence.

For the year ended December 31, 2006, we paid ACI a management fee of $2,000,000.

2004 Recapitalization

In October 2004, CBD Holdings and CBD Holdings Finance, Inc. issued the senior notes.  In connection with the issuance of the senior notes, CBD Media amended the senior credit facility by increasing the size of the term loan portion of the senior credit facility by $23.0 million.  CBD Media distributed approximately $7.0 million of cash on hand and $23.0 million of net proceeds of the increased term loan to CBD Holdings, which , in turn, distributed such funds, along with the net proceeds of the senior notes offering of approximately $97.0 million, to its equity holders.

In connection with the October 2004 recapitalization, holders of the Class C units in CBD Holdings were eligible to receive $2.6 million of distributions, $1.3 million of which was paid immediately.  The holders of Class C units will generally vest in and be paid the remaining distributions over a three-year period on each anniversary of the recapitalization subject to continued employment with CBD Media.  In both October 2006 and October 2005, CBD Holdings paid $0.4 million or a total of approximately two-thirds of the remaining $1.3 million to holders of the Class C units.  Upon termination of employment the holder of Class C units will forfeit any unpaid distributions and the forfeited amount will be allocated among the remaining Class C unit holders.  The holders of Class C units will fully vest in the remaining unpaid distributions upon a change in control.  The amount of the distributions is charged to expense over the vesting perio d.

Director Independence

Our directors are identified above in Item 10 “Directors and Executive Officers of CBD Media” above.  Neither director is independent.

ITEM 14. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTANT FEES AND SERVICES

Aggregate fees billed to us for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2006 and 2005 by our principal accounting firm, Deloitte & Touche LLP, the member firms of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, and their respective affiliates (collectively, “Deloitte & Touche”):

Audit Fees – Audit fees billed for 2006 and 2005 were $152,700 and $136,000, respectively.  These amounts include fees for the assistance related to the our various filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission including the issuance of comfort letters and auditor consents.

Audit-Related Fees – We had no audit-related fees or services.

Tax Fees – Billings for tax services were $33,250 and $22,850 for 2006 and 2005, respectively.  This amount includes fees paid for assistance with federal, state and local tax compliance matters.  All of the work performed in connection with this engagement was performed by full-time, permanent employees of the principal accountant.



44





All Other Fees – We had no other fees or services.

Our Board of Directors functions as our audit committee.  Our policy is to require our Board of Directors to pre-approve audit and non-audit services.

ITEM 15. EXHIBITS AND FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES

(a) (1)

Financial Statements.


The Company’s financial statements included in this Form 10-K are listed in the Index to Financial Statements on page F-1.


(F)

(2) Exhibits


Exhibit No.

Description of Exhibit

3.1

Amended and Restated Certificate of Formation of CBD Media LLC, filed March 4, 2002 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to CBD Media’s Registration Statement on Form S-4 (No. 333-107783) filed August 8, 2003).

3.2

Certificate of Incorporation of CBD Finance Inc., filed October 8, 2002 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.2 to CBD Media’s Registration Statement on Form S-4 (No. 333-107783) filed August 8, 2003).

3.3

Limited Liability Company Agreement for CBD Media LLC, dated March 7, 2002 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.3 to CBD Media’s Registration Statement on Form S-4 (No. 333-107783) filed August 8, 2003).

3.4

Bylaws of CBD Media LLC (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.4 to CBD Media’s Registration Statement on Form S-4 (No. 333-107783) filed August 8, 2003.

3.5

Bylaws of CBD Finance, Inc. (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.5 to CBD Media’s Registration Statement on Form S-4 (No. 333-107783) filed August 8, 2003.

4.1

Indenture with respect to the 8 ⅝% Senior Subordinated Notes due 2011, among CBD Media LLC, CBD Finance, Inc. and HSBC Bank USA, as trustee, dated June 13, 2003 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 to CBD Media’s Registration Statement on Form S-4 (No. 333-107783) filed August 8, 2003).

4.2

Form of 8 ⅝% of Senior Subordinated Notes due 2011 (included in exhibit 4.1).

10.1

Credit Agreement, dated June 13, 2003, by and among CBD Media LLC, CBD Media Holdings LLC, the lenders party thereto and Lehman Commercial Paper Inc. as administrative agent with Lehman Brothers Inc. as joint-lead arranger and book runner, Bank of America Securities LLC as joint-leader arranger and book runner, Bank of America, N.A. as syndication agent and Toronto Dominion (Texas), Inc., as Documentation Agent (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to CBD Media’s Registration Statement on Form S-4 (No. 333-107783) filed August 8, 2003).

10.2

Directory Services Agreement by and between CBD Media LLC and L.M. Berry and Company, dated September 1, 2002 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to CBD Media’s Amendment No. 1 to Registration Statement on Form S-4/A (No. 333-107783) filed November 6, 2003).

10.3

Billing and Collection Services Operating Agreement between Cincinnati Bell Telephone and CBD Media, Inc., dated February 4, 2002 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3 to CBD Media’s Registration Statement on Form S-4 (No. 333-107783) filed August 8, 2003).

10.4

License Agreement between Cincinnati Bell Inc. and CBD Media, Inc., dated as of February 4, 2002 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.4 to CBD Media’s Registration Statement on Form S-4 (No. 333-107783) filed August 8, 2003).

10.5**

Agreement between Cincinnati Bell Directory Inc. and Quebecor Printing Directory Sales Corporation (now known as Quebecor World Directory Sales Corporation) dated January 1, 1999 and as amended November 20, 2001.



45









10.6*


Directory Delivery Agreement between Cincinnati Bell Directory, Inc. and Directory Distributing Associates, Inc., dated January 1, 2003.

10.7*

Advisory Fee Letter Agreement by and between CBD Media LLC and Applegate & Collatos, Inc., dated as of March 7, 2002.

10.8*

Amendment to the Letter Agreement of March 7, 2002, dated as of June 13, 2003.

10.9**

Amended and Restated Employment Agreement between CBD Media LLC and Douglas A. Myers dated March 4, 2002.

10.10**

Employment Agreement between CBD Media LLC and John P. Schwing dated March 8, 2002.

10.11**

Employment Agreement between CBD Media LLC and David D. Miller dated March 8, 2002.

10.12

Amendment to Letter Agreement of March 7, 2002 and amended June 13, 2003, dated as of December 23, 2003.

10.13

First Amendment and Waive to Credit Agreement, dated February 5, 2004 to the Credit Agreement, dated as of June 13, 2003, among CBD Media Holdings LLC, CBD Media LLC, the financial institutions and entities from time to time parties thereto, and Lehman Commercial Paper Inc., as administrative agent.

10.14

Amendment No. 6 by and between CBD Media, LLC and Quebecor World Directory Sales Corporation and Quebecor World Hazleton, Inc. dated November 16, 2005, which amends the Printing and Binding Agreement dated July 23, 1998, as amended as of December 22, 1999, November 20, 2001, December 10, 2004 and March 18, 2004.

12.1

Statement of Computation of Ratio of Earning to Fixed Charges.

31.1

Certification of Periodic Report by the Chief Executive Officer pursuant to Rule 13a-14(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

31.2

Certification of Periodic Report by the Chief Financial Officer pursuant to Rule 13a-14(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

32.1

Certification of Periodic Report by the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 1350, as created by Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.***

99.1*

Form of Letter of Transmittal, with respect to the outstanding notes and exchange notes.

99.2*

Form of Notice of Guaranteed Delivery, with respect to the outstanding notes and exchange notes.

99.3*

Form of Letter to Registered Holder and/or Book-Entry Transfer Facility Participant.

99.4*

Letter to Our Clients.

99.5*

Guidelines for Certification of Taxpayer Identification Number on Substitute Form W-9.

__________

 


 

 *

As filed with CBD Media LLC’s Registration Statement on Form S-4 (No. 333-107783) filed August 8, 2003.

 **

As filed with CBD Media LLC’s Amendment No. 1 on Form S-4 (No. 333-107783) filed November 5, 2003.

 ***

This certificate is being furnished solely to accompany the report pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 1350 and is not being filed for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and is not to be incorporated by reference into any of our filings, whether made before or after the date hereof, regardless of any general incorporation language in such filing.



46





SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.


CBD MEDIA LLC


By:

/s/ Douglas A. Myers

Name:

Douglas A. Myers
Title:

President and Chief Executive Officer


Dated: March 19, 2007


Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities indicated on March 19, 2007.


Signature

Title


     /s/  Douglas A. Myers

President, Chief Executive Officer and Director

____________________________

(principal executive officer)

           Douglas A. Myers



/s/  John P. Schwing

Vice President of Finance and Administration and Chief Financial Officer

____________________________

(principal financial and accounting officer)

        John P. Schwing



/s/  David D. Miller

Vice President of Sales and Operations

____________________________

        David D. Miller




  /s/  Brion B. Applegate

Director

____________________________

        Brion B. Applegate




  /s/  Benjamin M. Coughlin

Director and Secretary

____________________________

        Benjamin M. Coughlin





47





INDEX TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

CBD Media LLC

Page

     Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm………………………………………………

F-2

     Consolidated Balance Sheets as of December 31, 2006 and 2005………………………………………..

F-3

     Consolidated Statements of Operations for the Years Ended December 31, 2006, 2005 and 2004………

F-4

     Consolidated Statements of Member’s Capital (Deficit) for the Years Ended December 31, 2006, 2005
          and 2004………………………………………………………………………………………………


F-5

     Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the Years Ended December 31, 2006, 2005 and 2004………

F-6

     Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements……………………………………………………………

F-7

  




F-1





REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

To the Board of Directors and Member of CBD Media LLC

We have audited the accompanying balance sheets of CBD Media LLC, (a wholly-owned subsidiary of CBD Media Holdings LLC) and subsidiary (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2006 and 2005, and the related consolidated statements of operations, member’s capital (deficit), and cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2006.  These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management.  Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the financial statements based on our audits.

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States).  Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement.  The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting.  Our audits included consideration of internal control over financial reporting as a basis for designing audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting.  Accordingly, we express no such opinion.  An audit also includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements, assessing the accounting principles used and significant est imates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation.  We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

In our opinion, such consolidated financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2006 and 2005, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2006, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

DELOITTE & TOUCHE LLP

Cincinnati, Ohio

March 19, 2007




F-1





CBD MEDIA LLC

 

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

DECEMBER 31, 2006 AND 2005  

(Dollars in Thousands)

 

        

 

  

2006

 

  

2005

 

  

ASSETS

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

CURRENT ASSETS:

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

Cash and cash equivalents

  

$

7,217

  

$11,768

 

  

Accounts receivable (net of allowance of $3,325 and $4,687 at December 31, 2006 and 2005, respectively)

  

 

5,561

  

4,972

 

  

Deferred directory costs

  

 

12,840

  

13,218

 

  

Prepaid expenses and other current assets

  

 

325

  

438

 

  

Related party receivable

  

 

2,068

  

1,165

 

  

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

Total current assets

  

 

28,011

  

31,561

 

  

   

PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT (NET)

  

 

271

  

194

 

  

   

DEBT ISSUANCE COSTS (net of accumulated amortization of $5,566 and $3,825 at December 31, 2006 and 2005, respectively)

  

 

5,339

  

7,080

 

  

   

GOODWILL

  

 

27,115

 

27,115

 

  

   

INTANGIBLE ASSETS (NET)

  

 

185,471

 

210,031

 

  

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

  

TOTAL ASSETS

  

$

246,207

$

275,981

 

  

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

LIABILITIES AND MEMBER’S CAPITAL (DEFICIT)

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

CURRENT LIABILITIES:

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

Accounts payable

  

$

1,682

864

 

  

Accrued liabilities

  

 

4,323

  

4,377

 

  

Deferred revenue

  

 

7,612

  

7,468

 

  

Other current liabilities

  

 

634

  

634

 

  

Related party payable

  

 

234

  

142

 

  

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

Total current liabilities

  

 

14,485

  

13,485

 

  

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

LONG-TERM DEBT

  

 

260,000

  

282,000

 

  

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

OTHER LONG-TERM LIABILITIES (NET OF CURRENT PORTION)

  

 

516

  

1,050

 

  

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES (NOTES 5 AND 6)

       

                   Total liabilities

  

275,001

 

296,535

  

MEMBER’S CAPITAL (DEFICIT):

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

Contributed capital

  

 

-

 

 -

 

  

Retained earnings (deficit)

  

 

(28,794)

  

(20,554)

 

  

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

Total member’s capital (deficit)

  

 

(28,794)

  

(20,554)

 

  

TOTAL LIABILITIES AND MEMBER’S CAPITAL (DEFICIT)

  

$

246,207

  $

275,981

 

  

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

See notes to consolidated financial statements.



F-2





CBD MEDIA LLC


CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2006, 2005 AND 2004

(Dollars in Thousands)

 



   

2006

 

2005

 

2004

NET REVENUE (includes net related party amounts of $1,598, $1,599

     and $1,657 in 2006, 2005 and 2004, respectively)

 

$

86,485

$

86,792

$

87,654


COST OF REVENUE (includes related party amounts of $988, $1,112 and $1,229 in 2006, 2005 and 2004, respectively)

  


32,691

 


32,671

 


34,617


AMORTIZATION AND DEPRECIATION

  


24,643

 


25,180



25,798


GENERAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE (includes related party amounts of $2,000 each year)

  



4,476

 



4,522

 



7,278


OPERATING INCOME

  


24,675

 


24,419

 


19,961


OTHER (INCOME) EXPENSES:

     Interest expense

     Interest income

  



24,168

(64)

 



23,083

(49)

 



20,101

(60)

               

               Total other (income) expenses

  


24,104

 


23,034

 


20,041


NET INCOME (LOSS)

 


$


571


$


1,385


$


(80)


 

See notes to consolidated financial statements.



F-3





CBD MEDIA LLC


CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF MEMBER’S CAPITAL (DEFICIT)

FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2006, 2005 AND 2004

(Dollars in Thousands)


  



Contributed

Capital

 


Retained

Earnings (Deficit)

 

Total

Member’s

Capital

(Deficit)

       

BALANCE – December 31, 2003

$

11,673

$

3,884

$

15,557


  Net loss

 


 


(80)

 


(80)


  Contributions from member

 


2,881

   


2,881


  Distribution to member

 


(14,554)

 


(14,724)

 


(29,278)


BALANCE – December 31, 2004

 


-

 


(10,920)

 


(10,920)


  Net income

   


1,385

 


1,385


  Contributions from member

   


474

 


474


  Distributions to member

 


 

 


(11,493)

 


(11,493)


BALANCE – December 31, 2005

 


-



(20,554)

 


(20,554)

  

  Net income

   


571

 


571

  

  Contributions from member

   


438

 


438

   

  Distributions to member

 


 


(9,249)

 


(9,249)


BALANCE – December 31, 2006


$


-

 


$(28,794)

 


$(28,794)


See notes to consolidated financial statements.



F-4





CBD MEDIA LLC

 

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2006, 2005 AND 2004

(Dollars in Thousands)

 

  

2006

 

2005

 

2004

CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES:

      

     Net income (loss)

$

571

$

1,385

$

(80)

     Adjustments to reconcile net income (loss) to cash flows provided by

       operating activities:

      

     Depreciation and amortization

 

24,643

 

25,180

 

25,798

     Amortization of debt issuance costs

 

1,741

 

1,536

 

1,482

     Changes in certain working capital accounts:

      

           Accounts receivable

 

(1,492)

 

1,915

 

(31)

           Prepaid expenses and other assets

 

113

 

(84)

 

193

           Deferred directory costs

 

378

 

(1,017)

 

149

           Accounts payable and other current liabilities

 

910

 

(1,028)

 

798

           Accrued liabilities

 

(54)

 

(288)

 

(1,030)

           Deferred revenue

 

144

 

(13)

 

582

           Other

 

(534)

 

(534)

 

(534)

                   Net cash provided by operating activities

 

26,420

 

27,052

 

27,327


CASH FLOWS FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES-

      

           Capital expenditures

 

(160)

 

(133)

 

(74)

                   Net cash used in investing activities

 

(160)

 

(133)

 

(74)


CASH FLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES:

      

     Advance to Parent

 

-

 

-

 

(3,188)

     Contributions from member

 

438

 

474

 

2,881

     Distributions to member

 

(9,249)

 

(8,305)

 

(29,278)

     Debt issuance costs

 

-

 

-

 

(854)

     Proceeds from borrowings

 

-

 

-

 

23,000

     Payments on borrowings

 

(22,000)

 

(21,000)

 

(28,600)

                   Net cash used in financing activities

 

(30,811)

 

(28,831)

 

(36,039)


NET DECREASE IN CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS

 


(4,551)

 


(1,912)

 


(8,786)


CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS:

      

     Beginning of period

 

11,768

 

13,680

 

22,466

     End of period

$

7,217

$

11,768

$

13,680


SUPPLEMENTAL CASH FLOW INFORMATION:

      

     Cash paid for interest (including interest rate swap)

$

22,687

$

22,548

$

18,843

     Cash paid for income taxes

$

-

$

20

$

60

     Advance to parent converted to a distribution

$

-

$

3,188

$

-

     Purchase adjustment to accrued liabilities and goodwill

$

-

$

1,184

$

-


See notes to consolidated financial statements.



F-5





CBD MEDIA LLC


NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2006, 2005 AND 2004

(Dollars in Thousands)


1.

SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

 

Nature of Business—CBD Media LLC (the “Company”) is located in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Company publishes yellow page directories and sells directory advertising and information services in the Greater Cincinnati area, including Northern Kentucky and Southeast Indiana. These services are available to customers in the form of a traditional printed directory, an internet directory website www.cincinnatibellyellowpages.com and an electronic directory on CD-ROM.  The Company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of CBD Media Holdings LLC (“CBD Holdings”).

 

On May 21, 2003, the Company formed a wholly-owned finance subsidiary, CBD Finance, Inc. (“CBD Finance”), which is incorporated in the state of Delaware. In June 2003 CBD Finance co-issued senior subordinated notes, joint and severally, with the Company. Separate financial statements for CBD Finance are not provided because CBD Finance does not have independent assets or operations from the Company.

 

Substantially all of the Company’s operations are outsourced to third-party service providers, and it is dependent upon the performance of third parties for the following key components of its operations: sales of advertising, printing of directories, distribution and delivery of directories, and billing and collection. The Company has executed long-term contracts with these third-parties. A change in these suppliers could cause a disruption in the Company’s business due to the time it would take to locate and qualify an alternate supplier for these services.

 

 

Cash and Cash Equivalents—Cash and cash equivalents represent cash on hand and demand deposits with banks and short-term, highly liquid investments.

 

Property and Equipment—Depreciation is computed using the straight-line method over estimated useful lives ranging from three to five years.

 

Goodwill and Intangible Assets—At inception the Company adopted Financial Accounting Standard No. (“FAS”) 142—“Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets.” Recorded goodwill and intangible assets with indefinite lives are not amortized, but instead are tested for impairment annually in the fourth quarter. Other intangible assets are reviewed for impairment in accordance with FAS 144—“Accounting for the Impairment or Disposal of Long-Lived Assets.” All other intangible assets except for advertiser related assets are amortized using the straight-line amortization method. Advertiser related assets are amortized using an accelerated amortization method that matches the expected benefit derived from the advertisers. The accelerated amortization method used is a method that allocates amortization expense in proportion to each year’s expected revenues to the total expected revenues over the thirty year life of the Company’s advertisers. Based on the Company’s experience, advertiser attrition is more rapid in the earlier years of the life of the Company’s advertisers.  A summary of intangible assets is as follows:

 

                     

 

  

Advertiser

list

 

 

 

Non-compete

covenant

 

 

 

Listing

database

 

 

 

Trademark and

tradename

licenses

 

 

 

Total

 

 

Carrying amount December 31, 2006

  

$

52,000

 

 

$

154,000

 

 

$

200

 

 

$

104,000

 

 

$

310,200

 

Accumulated amortization

  

 

(25,099)

 

 

 

(74,433)

 

 

 

(97)

 

 

 

(25,100)

 

 

 

(124,729)

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net amount at December 31, 2006

  

$

26,901

 

 

$

79,567

 

 

$

103

 

 

$

78,900

 

 

$

185,471

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Carrying amount December 31, 2005

  

$

52,000

 

 

$

154,000

 

 

$

200

 

 

$

104,000

 

 

310,200

 

Accumulated amortization

  

 

(21,159)

 

 

 

(59,033

)

 

 

(77

)

 

 

(19,900

)

 

 

(100,169)

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net amount at December 31, 2005

  

$

30,841

 

 

$

94,967

 

 

$

123

 

 

$

84,100

 

 

$

210,031

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



F-6





CBD MEDIA LLC


NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS-(Continued)

FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2006, 2005 AND 2004

(Dollars in Thousands)




Amortization of identifiable intangible assets for the next five years as of December 31, 2006 is as follows:

 

    

Year ending December 31:

  

 

 

2007

  

24,070

2008

  

 

23,640

2009

  

 

23,265

2010

  

 

22,936

2011

  

22,648


 

The changes in the carrying amount of goodwill for the year ended December 31, 2005 are as follows:


 

Balance at December 31, 2004

$28,299

 
 

Other - Purchase adjustment

 (1,184)

 
 

Balance at December 31, 2005

$27,115

 


Deferred Directory Costs—Direct costs incurred related to directories published in June and November of each year are deferred and amortized over the life of the directory, generally twelve months. Primary directory costs include sales commissions paid to sales agents and printing and distribution costs associated with the directory publications.

 

Debt Issue Costs—The costs related to the issuance of debt are capitalized and amortized to interest expense over the life of the related loans using the effective interest method. On June 13, 2003, the Company successfully completed a recapitalization, in which the existing credit facility was terminated and the Company entered into a new $165,000 senior credit facility, and issued and sold $150,000 of 8 5/8% senior subordinated notes. The Company incurred debt issuance costs of approximately $10,050 related to the recapitalization.  Existing debt issuance costs related to the Term A and Term B loans of approximately $6,242 (and accumulated amortization of approximately $1,357) were written off and charged to interest expense in conjunction with the termination of such debt.  In February 2004, the Company refinanced the tranche B term loan of its senior credit facility with a tranche C term loan (see Note 6).  In connection with the refinancing the Company capitalized financing fees of approximately $600.  In October 2004, the Company replaced the existing tranche C term loan with a $153,000 tranche D term loan (see Note 6).  In connection with the refinancing the Company capitalized financing fees of approximately $254.  Amortization of approximately $1,741, $1,536, and $1,482 has been charged to expense for the years ended December 31, 2006, 2005 and 2004, respectively.

 

Vendor Incentives—The Company has long-term contracts with certain vendors under which the vendors pay cash incentives to the Company for entering into the contracts. These incentives are recorded as deferred income and amortized as a reduction of cost of sales over the related contract terms. The amount of deferred vendor incentives that are expected to be amortized within one year are recorded as a current liability within other current liabilities. The remaining portion of deferred vendor incentives are recorded within other long-term liabilities. Total deferred vendor incentives were approximately $1,150 and $1,684 at December 31, 2006, and 2005, respectively.

 

Fair Value of Financial Instruments—The carrying amounts reported in the balance sheet for cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable, accounts payable and other accrued expenses approximate their fair values due to the short-term nature of these financial instruments. The fair value of the Company’s long-term debt, including current maturities, is estimated using discounted cash flow analyses, based on the incremental borrowing rates currently available to the Company for similar debt with similar terms and maturity.



F-7





CBD MEDIA LLC

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - (Continued)

FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2006, 2005 AND 2004

(Dollars in Thousands)

 

Concentration of Credit Risks—Financial instruments which potentially expose the Company to concentrations of credit risk consist primarily of accounts receivable. Management believes its credit policies are prudent and reflect normal industry terms and business risk. The Company does not anticipate non-performance by its customers and, accordingly, does not require collateral.

 

A roll forward of the allowance for sales adjustments for the years ended December 31, 2006, 2005 and 2004 is as follows:


Balance, December 31, 2003

 $4,875

Charged to revenue

  4,113

Write-offs

(4,468)

Balance, December 31, 2004

  4,520

Charged to Revenue

  3,506

Write-Offs

(3,339)

Balance, December 31, 2005

4,687

Charged to revenue

1,395

Write-offs

(2,757)

Balance, December 31, 2006

$3,325


 

Revenue Recognition—Revenue is primarily the result of selling advertising that is subsequently placed in the Cincinnati Bell Yellow Pages. Revenues related to publishing directories are recognized using the “amortization method” under which revenues are recognized over the lives of the directories, generally twelve months. Deferred revenue relates to the sale of advertising to national advertisers which is billed in advance and recognized over the lives of the directories. Adjustments to revenue include primarily estimated sales adjustments for estimated losses due to claims resulting from publication errors, omissions in customer advertising, customer early terminations or other customer complaints. The estimated sales adjustments are determined based on historical experience, current knowledge of customers with disconnected phone service, and customer complaints received.


Income Taxes—No provision for federal taxes is required because the Company has elected to be taxed as a limited liability company; accordingly, each member’s respective share of income is included in its federal return. The Company has provided for certain state and city taxes which are classified within general and administrative expenses.  State and city taxes resulted in a benefit of approximately $22 and $0 for the years ended December 31, 2006 and 2005, respectively, and an expense of approximately $59 for the year ended December 31, 2004.

 

Use of Estimates—The preparation of the financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual amounts could differ from those estimates.



F-8







CBD MEDIA LLC

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - (Continued)

FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2006, 2005 AND 2004

(Dollars in Thousands)


2.

RECENTLY ISSUED ACCOUNTING STANDARDS


FAS 123 (revised 2004) – Share Based Payments (“FAS 123-R”) was issued in December 2004.  FAS 123-R replaces FAS 123 – Accounting for Stock-Based Compensation, and supersedes APB 25 – Accounting for Stock Issued to Employees.  FAS 123-R requires compensation expense associated with share-based payments to employees to be recognized in the financial statements based on their fair values.  FAS 123-R is effective for reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2005.  Adoption of this standard did not have a material effect on the Company’s financial statements.


FAS 155 – Accounting for Certain Hybrid Financial Instruments – an amendment of FASB Statements No. 133 and 140, was issued in February 2006.  FAS 155 provides entities with relief from having to separately determine the fair value of an embedded derivative that would otherwise be required to be bifurcated from its host contract in accordance with FAS 133 along with certain other clarifications and amendments to FAS 133 and FAS 140.  FAS 155 is effective for all financial instruments acquired, issued, or subject to a remeasurement event occurring after the beginning of an entity’s first fiscal year that begins after September 15, 2006.  Adoption of this standard is not expected to have a material effect on the Company’s financial statements.


FAS 156 – Accounting for Servicing of Financial Assets – an amendment of FASB Statement No. 140, was issued in March 2006.  FAS 156 provides some relief for servicers that use derivatives to economically hedge fluctuations in the fair value of their servicing rights and changes how gains and losses are computed in certain transfers or securitizations.  FAS 156 is effective as of the beginning of the first fiscal year that begins after September 15, 2006.  Adoption of this standard is not expected to have a material effect on the Company’s financial statements.


Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Interpretation No. 48 (“FIN 48”) - Accounting for Uncertainty in Income Taxes, was issued in July 2006.


FIN 48 clarifies the accounting for uncertainty in income taxes recognized in the financial statements in accordance with FAS 109, “Accounting for Income Taxes”. FIN 48 provides guidance on the financial statement recognition and measurement of a tax position taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. FIN 48 also provides guidance on derecognition, classification, interest and penalties, accounting in interim periods, disclosures, and transition.  In accordance with FIN 48, the benefits of tax positions will not be recorded unless it is more likely than not that the tax position would be sustained upon challenge by the appropriate tax authorities. Tax benefits that are more likely than not to be sustained are measured at the largest amount of benefit that is cumulatively greater than a 50% likelihood of being realized. FIN 48 is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2006.  The Company has not yet completed its assessment of the impact of FIN 48 on the Company 46;s financial statements.


FAS 157 - Fair Value Measurements, was issued in September 2006. The objective of the standard is to define fair value, establish a framework for measuring fair value and expand disclosures about fair value measurements.  FAS 157 will be effective for interim and annual reporting periods beginning after November 15, 2007.  The Company has not yet assessed the impact of this standard on the Company’s financial statements.

 

FAS 158 - Employers’ Accounting for Defined Benefit Pension and Other Postretirement Plans – an amendment of FASB statements No. 87, 88, 106 and 132(R), was issued in September 2006.  FAS 158 requires an entity to recognize the over- or under-funded status of each pension and postretirement plan in its balance sheet. The standard did not change the manner in which plan liabilities or periodic expense is



F-9





measured. Changes in the funded status of the plans resulting from unrecognized prior service costs and credits and unrecognized actuarial gains and losses are recorded as a component of other comprehensive income within shareholders’ equity.  FAS 158 is effective for the Company as of the end of the first fiscal year ending after June 15, 2007.  Adoption of this standard is not expected to have a material effect on the Company’s financial statements.


FAS 159 - The Fair Value Option for Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities, was issued in February 2007. The standard permits entities to choose to measure many financial instruments and certain other items at fair value that are not currently required to be measured at fair value. The objective is to improve financial reporting by providing entities with the opportunity to mitigate volatility in reported earnings caused by measuring related assets and liabilities differently without having to apply complex hedge accounting provisions. FAS 159 will be effective for the first fiscal year that begins after November 15, 2007. The Company has not yet assessed the impact of this standard on the Company’s financial statements.


SEC Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 108 - Considering the Effects of Prior Year Misstatements When Quantifying Misstatements in Current Year Financial Statements (“SAB 108”), was issued in September 2006.  SAB 108 provides interpretive guidance on how registrants should quantify financial statement misstatements. Under SAB 108, registrants are required to consider both a “rollover” method, which analyzes the impact of the misstatement on the financial statements based on the amount of the error originating in the income statement being analyzed, and the “iron curtain” method, which analyzes the impact of the misstatement on the financial statements based on the cumulative effect of the error on the income statement being analyzed. The transition provisions of SAB 108 permit a registrant to adjust retained earnings for the cumulative effect of immaterial errors relating to prior years. The Company was required to adopt SAB 108 in 2 006.  Adoption of SAB 108 did not have a material effect on the Company’s financial statements.







F-10





CBD MEDIA LLC

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - (Continued)

FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2006, 2005 AND 2004

(Dollars in Thousands)


3.

PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT  


Property and equipment at December 31, 2006 and 2005 consisted of the following:


 

2006

 

2005

    

Furniture and office equipment

$40

 

$40

Leasehold Improvements

14

 

14

Computer software

272

 

141

Computer equipment

146

 

117

    

Total

472

 

312

Less accumulated depreciation

(201)

 

(118)

    

Property and equipment - net

$271

 

$194

    


4.

DEFERRED DIRECTORY COSTS


At December 31, 2006 and 2005 the Company deferred directory costs for directories in the Greater Cincinnati Area which were published in June and November 2006 and 2005, respectively.  Deferred directory costs at December 31, 2006 and 2005 consisted of the following:



  

2006

 

2005

 

Selling

$9,278

 

$9,548

 

Production

2,822

 

3,012

 

Distribution

740

 

658

 

Total deferred directory costs

$12,840

 

$13,218

     


5.

LEASES


The Company leases office space under non-cancelable operating leases.  Rent paid was approximately $276, $277 and $267 for the years ended December 31, 2006, 2005 and 2004.


Future minimum rent payments are as follows:


Year ending December 31:


2007

$86

2008

68

2009

70

2010

73

2011

75

Thereafter

38

Total

$410

  



F-11





CBD MEDIA LLC

 

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - (Continued)

FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2006, 2005 AND 2004

(Dollars in Thousands)


6.

LONG-TERM DEBT


Long-term debt at December 31, 2006 and 2005 consisted of the following:


  

2006

 

2005

 

8 5/8% Senior Subordinated Notes Due 2011

$150,000

 

$150,000

     
 

Term loan facility, payable to a consortium of banks, with

interest of  7.73% at December 31, 2006 and 6.99% at December 31, 2005.  Due on December 31, 2009.



110,000

 



132,000

     
 

Total

$260,000

 

$282,000

     

In conjunction with the recapitalization on June 13, 2003, the Company issued $150,000 of 8 5/8% Senior Subordinated Notes due 2011.  Net of fees and expenses, the issuance generated cash proceeds of $141,442.   


These proceeds, along with the proceeds from a new senior credit facility with a tranche B term loan of $160,000 and cash on hand were used to retire the existing $50,000 Term Loan A and the $160,000 Term Loan B.  As part of the recapitalization in 2003 the Company made distributions of approximately $128,300 to equity holders.  Substantially all assets of the Company are pledged as collateral under the existing debt agreements.


On June 13, 2003, the Company also entered into a revolving line of credit as part of the same senior credit facility as the $160,000 tranche B term loan, under which the Company may borrow up to $5,000 at the bank’s prime rate or LIBOR, plus applicable margins.  The tranche B term loan required annual principal reductions of $1,600 and the balance was due at maturity on December 31, 2008.  The line of credit replaced the existing line of credit, under which the Company could borrow up to $10,000 at the bank’s prime rate plus 2.25% or the LIBOR rate plus 3.25%.  There were no borrowings outstanding on the revolving lines of credit at December 31, 2006 or 2005.


In February 2004, the Company refinanced its tranche B term loan with a tranche C term loan to adjust its interest rate, maturity date and eliminate the annual principal reduction requirement.  Prior to the refinancing, the Company made a principal payment of $8,600 thereby reducing the outstanding principal balance.


In October 2004, CBD Holdings completed a recapitalization in which CBD Holdings issued and sold $100,000 of 9¼% senior notes due 2012.  In connection with the recapitalization, the Company amended the senior credit facility by replacing the existing tranche C term loan with a tranche D term loan to borrow an additional $23,000.  As part of the recapitalization in 2004 the Company made distributions of approximately $27,000 to its member.



F-12





CBD MEDIA LLC

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - (Continued)

FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2006, 2005 AND 2004

(Dollars in Thousands)



The fair value of the Company’s debt obligations was approximately $261,875 and $283,875 as of December 31, 2006 and 2005, respectively.


Under the terms of the loan agreements noted above, certain restrictive covenants exist regarding the Company’s ability to enter into new loan agreements, enter into interest rate hedges, buy or sell assets, enter into mergers or acquisitions, affect a liquidation of the Company, pay dividends, or amend the provisions of the Company’s bylaws, articles of incorporation or any provision of any material contract.  Other restrictive covenants include leverage restrictions and interest coverage.  At December 31, 2006 and 2005, the Company was in compliance with all restrictive covenants.


Scheduled maturities of long-term debt are as follows:


 

Year ending December 31:

  
 

2009

$110,000

 
 

2011

150,000

 
    
 

Total

$260,000

 


 

7.

RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS


Affiliates of Cincinnati Bell Inc., a member of CBD Holdings, provide the Company with billing, collection and distribution services through its affiliate Cincinnati Bell Telephone.  The related party receivable reported on the balance sheet represents cash collected by Cincinnati Bell Telephone that has not been remitted to the Company.  Total fees for such services were approximately $988, $1,112 and $1,229 for the years ended December 31, 2006, 2005 and 2004, respectively.  In addition, the Company provides Cincinnati Bell Telephone with advertising sales, printing and distribution services.  Total gross fees for such services were $4,815, $4,933 and $4,985 for the years ended December 31, 2006, 2005 and 2004, respectively, which had related pass through expenses of $3,217, $3,334, and $3,328 for the years ended December 31, 2006, 2005 and 2004, respectively.


Entities affiliated with CBD Holdings provide management services to the Company under the terms of an advisory agreement.  Total fees for such services were approximately $2,000 for each of the years ended December 31, 2006, 2005 and 2004.


The Company had an intercompany account with its parent, CBD Holdings in 2004.  This amount primarily related to the funding of debt issuance costs and interest payments relating to CBD Holdings, $100 million of 9 ¼% notes issued in October, 2004.  The amount owed to the Company was due upon demand and carried no interest.  During the first quarter of 2005, the balance of the intercompany account was converted to a distribution.


8.

401(k) PLAN


The Company has established a 401(k) plan.  Employees who are at least 21 years old are eligible for participation.  Employees may contribute a portion of their annual compensation to the plan subject to Internal Revenue Service limitations.  During the years ended December 31, 2006, 2005 and 2004, the Company’s discretionary contributions to the 401(k) plan were approximately $79, $75 and $74, respectively.



F-13





CBD MEDIA LLC  

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - (Continued)

FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2006, 2005 AND 2004

(Dollars in Thousands)



9.

MANAGEMENT UNIT AWARDS


During 2002, CBD Holdings awarded 23,570 Class C units in CBD Holdings to management of the Company. During 2003, an additional 806 Class C units were issued.  In 2004, 330 Class C units were forfeited.  The fair value of the Class C units awarded to management of the Company on the date of grant was determined to be less than $3. The Company is required to record the impact of these Class C units within its financial statements. The Class C units are subject to various restrictions, including continuous employment over a four year period. Subsequent to the vesting period, any transfer or sale of the Class C units is subject to the approval of the majority owners of CBD Holdings. Management believes that the restrictions on liquidation and lack of voting rights make the Class C units subordinate to the other classes of unit holders in CBD Holdings.  Prior to the adoption of FAS 123-R – “Share-Based Payment”, management considered this arr angement to be consistent with the definition of junior stock and was accounted for on its measurement date in accordance with Financial Accounting Standards Board Interpretation No. (“FIN”) 38 – “Determining the Measurement Date for Stock Option, Purchase, and Award Plans Involving Junior Stock”.  Compensation expense was not recorded until a measurement date was reached in accordance with FIN 38.


On January 1, 2006, the Company adopted FAS 123-R, using a modified prospective application. Accordingly, prior period amounts have not been restated.  The adoption of FAS 123-R did not have a significant effect on the Company’s financial statements and related disclosures.


In connection with the recapitalization in June 2003, CBD Investor, Inc. (parent of CBD Holdings) established an incentive compensation program for the Company’s employees who hold the Class C units, under which CBD Investor, Inc. paid these employees as a group, an aggregate amount of approximately $1,000 upon consummation of the recapitalization, which was expensed in July 2003.  Additionally, CBD Investor, Inc. agreed to provide an additional pool to these employees of up to $4,350.  This additional incentive amount is subject to vesting over a five-year period and is payable only upon the occurrence of certain specified events.  Additionally, in order for any incentive amount to be payable, the aggregate value of the Class C units at such event must equal or exceed $8,600 but may not exceed $13,250.  If the total value of the Class C units at the time of such event exceeds $13,250, then no incentive amount is payable.  The incentive a mount will be paid upon the occurrence of a qualifying event and charged to expense when the incentive payment becomes probable and in accordance with the remaining vesting period.


In April 2005 and 2004, the holders of the Class C units received aggregate tax distributions from the Company of approximately $36 and $1,555, respectively.  As these distributions were made by the Company without regard to vesting or eventual vesting of the Class C units, such distributions were recorded as compensation expense.


In connection with the October 2004 recapitalization, the holders of the Class C units received distributions from the Company of approximately $1,326.  As these distributions were made by the Company without regard to vesting or eventual vesting of the Class C units, such distributions were recorded as compensation expense.  In addition, CBD Holdings established an incentive compensation program under which the holders of the Class C units are eligible to receive additional distributions of approximately $1,315.  The holders of Class C units will generally vest in and be paid the incentive compensation over a three-year period on each anniversary of the recapitalization subject to continued employment with the Company.  In both October 2006 and October 2005, CBD Holdings paid approximately $438, or a total of approximately two-thirds of the remaining distributions to holders of the Class C units.  Upon termination of employment the holder of Class C units will forfeit any unpaid incentive compensation and the forfeited amount will be allocated among the remaining Class C unit holders.  The holders of Class C units will fully vest in the unvested incentive compensation upon a change in control.  The amount of the incentive compensation is charged to



F-14





expense over the vesting period.  Compensation expense for the years ended December 31, 2006, 2005 and 2004 was approximately $329, $730 and $134, respectively.


10.

SIGNIFICANT EVENTS


On December 12, 2006, Local Insight Media, LLC (“Local Insight”) and CBD Media announced the execution of a definitive agreement to combine their businesses.


Under the agreement, 100% of the membership interest of CBD Media’s parent, CBD Media Holdings, will be contributed to Local Insight.  Local Insight is a portfolio company of Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe (“WCAS”).  CBD Media Holdings is owned by affiliates of Spectrum Equity Investors, an affiliate of Cincinnati Bell Inc. and members of CBD Media’s management.  Upon consummation of the transaction, WCAS will own a majority of Local Insight and the current owners of CBD Media Holdings will retain a minority stake of approximately 29%.


The transaction, which is subject to regulatory approval and other closing conditions, is expected to close in the first quarter of 2007.



F-15





CBD MEDIA LLC 

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - (Continued)

FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2006, 2005 AND 2004

(Dollars in Thousands)



11.

SUMMARIZED QUARTERLY FINANCIAL INFORMATION (Unaudited)


Summarized financial information is as follows (in thousands):


 

First

Quarter

Second

Quarter

Third

Quarter

Fourth

Quarter


Total

2006

     

Net revenue

$21,229

$23,016

$21,563

$20,677

$86,485

Cost of revenue

7,666

7,959

8,350

8,716

32,691

Amortization & depreciation

6,153

6,152

6,153

6,185

24,643

General & administrative expenses

1,145

1,195

1,122

1,014

4,476

      

Operating income

6,265

7,710

5,938

4,762

24,675

Other expenses

5,955

6,074

6,058

6,017

24,104

      

Net income (loss)

  $    310

$  1,636

$  (120)

$(1,255)

$    571

      

2005

     

Net revenue

$21,887

$22,741

$21,057

$21,107

$86,792

Cost of revenue

7,978

8,343

7,843

8,507

32,671

Amortization & depreciation

6,293

6,295

6,296

6,296

25,180

General & administrative expenses

1,137

1,197

1,096

1,092

4,522

      

Operating income

6,479

6,906

5,822

5,212

24,419

Other expenses

5,564

5,752

5,836

5,882

23,034

      

Net income (loss)

$  915

$  1,154

$  (14)

$  (670)

$1,385

      








F-16





Exhibit 12.1



CBD Media LLC

Ratio of Earnings to Fixed Charges


 

Predecessor

CBD Media LLC

 




Period

from

Jan. 1

2002,

to

March

7, 2002


Period

from

March

8, 2002

to Dec.

31, 2002





Year Ended

December 31,

       2003             2004                  2005                     2006  

 

(Dollars in thousands)

(Dollars in thousands)

EARNINGS AS DEFINED:

       

Earnings (loss) from operations before income taxes…..

 

$4,965

$6,630

$(2,746)

$(80)

$1,385

$571

Fixed charges…………………………………………..

 

31

10,597

25,638

20,172

23,136

24,203

Earnings as defined…………………………………….

 

$4,996

$17,227

$22,892

$20,092

$24,521

$24,774


FIXED CHARGES AS DEFINED:

       

Interest expense, including amortization of debt issue costs.

 

$16

$10,545

$25,549

$20,101

$23,083

$24,168

Portion of rental expense representative of the interest factor

 

15

52

89

71

53

35

Fixed charges as defined……………………………….

 

$31

$10,597

$25,638

$20,172

$23,136

$24,203

RATIO OF EARNINGS TO FIXED CHARGES……..

 

161.2

1.6

0.9

0.9

1.1

1.0

ADDITIONAL INCOME REQUIRED TO MEET A 1.0

   RATIO……………………………………………….

 

N/A

N/A

$2,746

$80

N/A

N.A

 








Exhibit 31.1

 

CERTIFICATION OF CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

 

I, Douglas A. Myers, Chief Executive Officer of CBD Media LLC certify that:

 

1.

I have reviewed this annual report on Form 10-K of CBD Media LLC;

 

2.

Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;

 

3.

Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;

 

4.

The registrant’s other certifying officer and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) for the registrant and have:

 

a) Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by other within those entities, particularly during the period in which the report is being prepared;

 

b) Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and

 

c) Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrant’s most recent fiscal quarter (the registrant’s fourth fiscal quarter in the case of annual report) that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant’s internal controls over financial reporting; and

 

5.

The registrant’s other certifying officer and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to the registrant’s auditors and the audit committee of registrant’s board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):

 

a) All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal controls over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant’s ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and

 

b) Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the registrant’s internal controls over financial reporting.

 

         

Date:                March 19, 2007

 

 

 

 

     

 

 

 

 

 

 

By:

 

  /s/ Douglas A. Myers

 

 

 

 

 

 

Name:

 

Douglas A. Myers

 

 

 

 

 

 

Title:

 

Chief Executive Officer









Exhibit 31.2

 

CERTIFICATION OF CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER

 

I, John P. Schwing, Chief Financial Officer of CBD Media LLC certify that:

 

1.

I have reviewed this annual report on Form 10-K of CBD Media LLC;


2.

Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;

 

3.

Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;

 

4.

The registrant’s other certifying officer and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) for the registrant and have:

 

a) Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by other within those entities, particularly during the period in which the report is being prepared;

 

b) Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and

 

c) Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrant’s most recent fiscal quarter (the registrant’s fourth fiscal quarter in the case of annual report) that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant’s internal controls over financial reporting; and

 

5.

The registrant’s other certifying officer and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to the registrant’s auditors and the audit committee of registrant’s board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):

 

a) All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal controls over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant’s ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and

 

b) Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the registrant’s internal controls over financial reporting.

 

         

Date:                March 19, 2007

 

 

 

 

     

 

 

 

 

 

 

By:

 

  /s/ John P. Schwing

 

 

 

 

 

 

Name:

 

John P. Schwing

 

 

 

 

 

 

Title:

 

Chief Financial Officer









Exhibit 32.1

 

CERTIFICATION OF PERIODIC REPORT

 

The undersigned officers of CBD Media LLC hereby certify pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, that:

 

 

1.

the annual report on Form 10-K of CBD Media LLC for the period ended December 31, 2006 (the “Report”) fully complies with the requirements of Section 13(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934; and

 

 

2.

the information contained in the Report fairly presents, in all material respects, the financial condition and results of operations of CBD Media LLC

 

         

Date:                March 19, 2007

 

 

 

 

     

 

 

 

 

 

 

By:

 

  /s/ Douglas A. Myers

 

 

 

 

 

 

Name:

 

Douglas A. Myers

 

 

 

 

 

 

Title:

 

Chief Executive Officer

 

         

Date:                March 19, 2007

 

 

 

 

     

 

 

 

 

 

 

By:

 

  /s/ John P. Schwing

 

 

 

 

 

 

Name:

 

John P. Schwing

 

 

 

 

 

 

Title:

 

Chief Financial Officer

 

The foregoing certification is being furnished solely to accompany the Report pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 1350, and is not being filed for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and is not to be incorporated by reference into any filing of the Company, whether made before or after the date hereof, regardless of any general incorporation language in such filing.

 

A signed original of this written statement required by Section 906 has been provided to the Company and will be retained by the Company and furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission or its staff upon request







-----END PRIVACY-ENHANCED MESSAGE-----