The outdoor advertising boom continues, with oOh!media signing a deal to buy digital display business Executive Channel Network (ECN) for $68.5 million through oOh!’s subsidiary Inlink Group.
The company will partially fund the deal with a $60 million capital raising.
CEO Brendan Cook says the purchase is an exciting opportunity for oOh! to expand its digital presence, particularly targeting the valuable CBD audience. "The acquisition further enhances our position as Australia's largest reaching digital sign network and consolidates our number one position in the CBD office segment," Cook told the ASX in a statement.
The ECN group was founded in Australia over ten years ago and currently has installations in over 280 different locations, specialising in display screens in CBD office towers and car parks. The acquisition will bring the number of buildings under management between ECN and Inlink to over 630 with more than 3,500 displays across Australia, reaching an estimated business audience of more than 1.8 million per week.
oOh!’s shares will remain in a trading halt today while the placement is conducted. The price of $4.75 per share represents a 2.9% discount to the last closing price on 10 October 2016.
Meanwhile, rival outdoor media company Adshel, jointly owned by APN News & Media and US-based Clear Channel, announced it’s investing in 110 new digital screens.
“We have a pretty hot market at the moment and we’re taking advantage of that,” says Rob Atkinson, Adshel chief executive. “We don’t have to worry about ad blocking, ad fraud or audience fragmentation.”