More Group In £150m Merger With Dauphin

More Group, a subsidiary of US company Clear Channel (see More Group Urges Shareholders To Accept Clear Channel Bid), has today announced the agreed acquisition of 50.5% of France-based outdoor company Dauphin OTA for FF1.5 billion (£150 million). To facilitate a full merger between the two companies, More now intends to acquire the remaining shares in Dauphin for FF960 per share.

Dauphin, which had sales of FF1.5 billion in 1998, operates in France, Spain, Italy and Belgium. These operations will be merged with More Group’s outdoor interests in 33 countries – its largest operations in UK, Scandinavia and Belgium. The merged operations will both become subsidiaries of Clear Channel.

The full acquisition of Dauphin’s shares values the whole company at FF3 billion (£300 million). Following the merger, More Group’s existing operations in France will be merged with the existing Dauphin structure. The chairman of the Dauphin Group Board will be Jacques Machurot.

Commenting on the merger, More’s chief executive, Roger Parry, says: “More and Dauphin have developed along parallel lines for more than sixty years – both building strong businesses in their chosen markets. The secret of making a merger work is to bring together management teams who have mutual respect and a shared vision of the future. I am very confident that the combination of Dauphin and More is to be a successful one.”

More Group: 0171 287 3303