Veronis Suhler Adds Name Partner

By: Veronis Suhler, the New York-based media merchant bank founded in 1981 by former media industry executives John J. Veronis and John S. Suhler, announced Tuesday that it has added a name partner and co-CEO to the firm: Jeffrey T. Stevenson, the longtime head of Veronis Suhler's private-equity operations.

Stevenson, 41, who became a partner in 1998, also serves on the firm's executive committee and has served as a director on the boards of all 25 portfolio companies in which its three VS&A Communications Partners L.P. funds have invested, the parent company said in a press release.

Stevenson's tenure nearly matches that of his co-CEOs, as he joined Veronis Suhler in 1982 as an investment-banking associate. In 1987, he was named executive vice president in charge of the firm's private-equity investment affiliate, VS&A Communications Partners, which launched Veronis Suhler as an investor in communications industries.

Its VS&A Communications Partners portfolio of 25 companies currently generates more than $1 billion in revenue a year, both in Europe and the United States.

In addition to its private-equity operations, Veronis Suhler over the last two decades has aided in the completion of transactions in all major segments of the newspaper industry, including large, midsize, and small dailies, alternative weeklies, business journals, and legal sheets. It also is widely known within the industry for producing its annual "Communications Industry Forecast" and "Communications Industry Report."

John Veronis, chairman of Veronis Suhler Stevenson and a founding general partner of the firm's private-equity funds, said that the firm has completed more than 550 investment banking transactions valued in excess of $33 billion, while its 25 private-equity portfolio companies have themselves made more than 100 other acquisitions.

Veronis and John Suhler, president of Veronis Suhler Stevenson and also a founding general partner of the firm's private-equity funds, said in a joint statement that Stevenson's appointment signals more expansion of the firm and that new partners likely will be named next year: "Our objective is to provide an opportunity for senior members of the firm to participate as owners in the future of the business."