US owners explore sale options for OOH giant Exterion with a $1bn price tag
Exterion Media – the UK-based out-of-home (OOH) advertising outfit with some of the most lucrative contracts in Europe – is up for sale, with its US-based owners Platinum Equity reportedly asking for up to $1bn, according to reports.
Exterion holds the contract for billboard advertising on the London Underground, the most lucrative one of its kind in Europe
The London Evening Standard today (February 17) carried a report alleging that “sale memorandums started landing on potential buyers’ desks in the past few days”, and claiming that its owners were asking for bids of up to $1bn, a significantly higher sum than was touted in previous reports when it was said to be exploring a sales option in late 2016.
The latest report claims the sale is being handled by Goldman Sachs and Peter J Solomon, with Germany’s Ströer International touted as a potential bidder from within the advertising industry.
The Drum approached Platinum Equity Partners for comment but it was unable to do so by time of publication, and none of the parties mentioned above have gone on record over the claims.
These reports come a little under a year into Exterion Media's lucrative contract for advertising sites on the London Underground, an eight-year deal it regained after a hard-fought battle with rival JC Decaux, said to be worth over £150m ($186m) a year – the most valuable OOH advertising contract across the continent.
Exterion Media was formerly the European arm of CBS Outdoor before its 2013 sale to the private equity house, and in recent years it has been investing heavily in ramping up its digital capabilities to better monetize its footprint.