Hibu Inc., the publisher of “Yellowbook” phone directories in the U.S., filed for bankruptcy court protection to aid the U.K. restructuring that began this month, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. The company, based in Reading, England, owes creditors more than $1 billion, according to a chapter 15 filing that seeks to block lawsuits and organize creditors in the U.S. Hibu, which also prints yellow pages in the U.K. and Spain, began reorganizing in U.K. courts on Jan. 17 after earnings fell on competition from the Internet. Before court proceedings began, Hibu negotiated a restructuring in July that would reduce its debt by 800 million pounds ($1.3 billion) while giving lenders control of the company, formerly known as Yell. The case is In re Hibu Inc., 14-bk-70323, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Eastern District of New York (Central Islip).
