oOh!media, Australia’s largest owner of billboards and street furniture assets, has attracted bids from Pacific Equity Partners, I Squared Capital, Oaktree Capital Management and Bain Capital over the past three months. Several offers now sit at $1.60 a share, according to the company’s Monday update to investors.
That price tops Pacific Equity Partners’ opening $1.40 a share approach and I Squared Capital’s subsequent $1.45 proposal. Bidders have been granted limited access to the group’s books as they refine their takeover pitches.
Rival interest has intensified since oOh!media overhauled its leadership, replacing its chief executive at the start of the year. The shake up continued when its chair stepped down last month, adding another layer of uncertainty around the company’s direction.
Private equity firms are now poring over a business that controls a sprawling portfolio of roadside billboards, transit advertising and other street assets across Australia and New Zealand. Those assets offer a mix of long term contracts and exposure to the volatile advertising cycle, which is attractive to financial buyers looking for scale.
The bidding war now revolves around whether any of the four suitors will edge above the $1.60 mark or seek alternative deal structures. Competitive tension gives oOh!media more leverage on both price and conditions, even as it keeps the data room tightly controlled.
Market watchers say the extended due diligence window is a test of which bidder can move fastest and show the most conviction. Uncertainty over who will ultimately own the country’s biggest outdoor network hangs over advertisers and rivals alike.
