Originating as a yellow pages directory publisher, Hibu got its start as a Long Island-based company, Merchant Advertising Services Inc. in 1930.

The Group was renamed Yell in 2000[4] and BT restructured in 2001 and agreed to sell the Yell directory business to private equity firms Apax Partners and Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst (today operating in Europe as Lion Capital LLP) for £2.14 billion/$3.5 billion,[5] making it then the largest non-corporate leveraged buyout in European history.

Yell bought McLeodUSA, one of the largest independent directory publishers in the US, for about $600 million in 2002[6] and floated on London's FTSE in 2003.

[8] TransWestern had been acquired by CIVC Partners in 1993 and was used as a vehicle for additional acquisitions of smaller directories publishers in the western US.

[9] In 2001, TransWestern acquired Texas-based WorldPages.com, Inc., a leading print and Internet yellow pages publisher listed on the New York Stock Exchange for $215 million.

[11] In July 2006, Yell threatened Yellowikis with legal action, claiming that people will confuse the two organisations.

In July 2011, Yell announced the acquisition of Znode, the privately owned multi-store ecommerce company[24] and strategic alliances on digital services for small businesses with both Microsoft[25] and Bazaarvoice.

[26] On 14 July, Yell announced a four-year plan to move away from traditional print and online advertising and focus on providing a broader range of digital services for both small businesses and consumers.

On 3 March 2014, Hibu announced that the financial restructuring of the group is now effective following consent from lenders, clearance from the UK Pensions Regulator and court sanction.