American private equity firm I Squared has won the bidding war for Australian out-of-home giant oOh!Media.
The Florida-headquartered company, which typically invests in energy, transport and data centre infrastructure, had a bid of $1.70 per share for oOh!Media accepted, which values the company $898 million, with an enterprise value just above $1 billion.
The final offer was 30 cents higher than an initial non-binding offer lodged in April.
It also values oOh!Media higher than the $850 million Nine paid for outdoor rival QMS earlier this year.
The oOh!Media board has unanimously recommended shareholders vote in favour of the offer.
oOh!Media chair Philippa Kelly described the deal as an “attractive price”.
“I Sured’s focus on optimising the full value of the network aligns with the strategy of our CEO James Taylor and our experienced leadership team.”
I Squared senior partner Harsh Agrawal said: “oOh! has developer an impressive portfolio of out-of-home media infrastructure assets in a growing market. We look forward to partnering with the management team to build on the Company’s market leadership and continue to deliver compelling out-of-home media advertising opportunities for customers.”
The offer must now be approved by oOh!Media shareholders in October and market regulators in Australia and New Zealand. I passed, the acquisition is expected to take place in late November or early December.
