Global’s acquisition of Exterion Media has been cleared by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) today, seven months after the UK’s largest commercial radio business first announced it had made an offer to buy the out-of-home company.
The CMA launched an inquiry in February this year to establish whether the deal was anti-competitive. With the acquisition now given the go-ahead, Global has become one of the UK’s largest players in out-of-home, second to JCDecaux.
Exterion Media is the third out-of-home company to be bought up by Global, following the simultaneous purchase of Outdoor Plus and Primesight in September. Global will now move forward with integrating the three outdoor companies and launching its new Outdoor division, which will sit alongside its radio business.
These changes are expected to be completed by the autumn.
“Exterion, together with our recent purchases of Primesight and Outdoor Plus, will enable Global to make a huge impact in the outdoor market,” said Stephen Miron, group CEO, Global.
“As we have demonstrated over the last 11 years with our market leading radio business, we’re looking forward to bringing great innovation into the outdoor sector for advertisers as well as our new franchise and landlord partners.”
Exterion runs TfL’s lucrative underground and rail advertising, and is also responsible for OOH across all four metro systems in the UK: Newcastle, Liverpool, London and Glasgow, as well as being the largest supplier of bus side advertising in the UK.
It also operates companies in Ireland, France, The Netherlands and Spain; Global claims that the addition of the Exterion portfolio therefore makes it a market-leading outdoor company in those countries.
Ashley Tabor OBE, founder & executive president of Global, added: “Every few years, it’s important for ambitious businesses to take their next large steps towards growth and to ensure everything they are currently doing is still right and fit for purpose.
“Our significant move into Outdoor, at scale, shows the level of ambition and focus we have on creating mass advertising platforms that complement our existing portfolio.”
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