Dex Media

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Dex Media, Inc.
Type	Division of R. H. Donnelley
Founded	2002
Headquarters	Centennial, Colorado, USA
Industry	Directory Publishing
Products	Telephone Directories
Employees	2,700
Parent	US West (1984-2000) Qwest (2000-2002) The Carlyle Group, etc. (2002-2004) independent (2004-2006) R. H. Donnelley (2006-present)
Website	Dex Media Dex Knows Yellow Pages Dex B2B Business Directory

Dex Media, Inc. is the official directory of Qwest Communications International. Formerly QwestDex, US West Dex, US West Direct, Mountain Bell Yellow Pages, Northwestern Bell Yellow Pages, and Pacific Northwest Bell Yellow Pages, it is now a division of R. H. Donnelley.

Dex Media headquarters are located near Centennial, Colorado, though the postal designation of nearby Englewood is commonly used in the company's mailing address.

[edit] History

[edit] U S West Dex

In 1991, U S West began marketing its telephone services under the one "U S West" name. U S West, in 1995, divided its companies into two core divisions: U S WEST Communications, and U S WEST Media Group. U S WEST placed its directory operations in the hands of the Media Group, creating U S WEST Dex. U S WEST Dex, Inc. became the new name of U S West's publishing company.

[edit] QwestDex

In 2000, Qwest Communications International merged with U S West. As a result, U S West Dex was renamed Qwest Dex, and U S West Dex, Inc. was renamed Qwest Dex, Inc. In 2002, Qwest underwent a drastic reorganization, and attempted to fend off the bad service reputation of US West and introduced a new slogan, "Spirit of Service". In an effort to make it more profitable, Qwest searched for a buyer for QwestDex, Inc.

[edit] Dex Media

On August 20, 2002, The Carlyle Group, Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe, along with other private investors, led a $7.5 billion buyout of QwestDex. The buyout was the third largest corporate buyout since 1989.

QwestDex's purchase occurred in two stages. In November 2002, directory operations in Colorado, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota & South Dakota were acquired for $2.75 billion. These operations were known as Dex Media East LLC. In 2003, directory operations in Arizona, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming were acquired for $4.30 billion. These operations became known as Dex Media West LLC.

After completion of the formation of Dex Media, Dex signed a 50-year agreement with Qwest to be the official directory provider to Qwest local telephone customers.

In July 2004, Dex Media went public and began trading on the NYSE under the ticker "DEX".

On October 3, 2005, R. H. Donnelley Corporation announced its intent to acquire Dex Media. RHD's acquisition of Dex was completed on January 31, 2006. The combined company is still R. H. Donnelley Corporation, with headquarters in Cary, North Carolina.

[edit] See also

• Qwest