Hot on the heals of one of 2018’s most surprising double deals, Global has today announced a third out-of-home acquisition with a binding offer to buy Exterion Media.
Last month the UK’s largest commercial radio business acquired both Outdoor Plus and Primesight. On Friday it said it had made an offer to acquire Exterion, which runs TfL’s lucrative underground and rail advertising.
Exterion Media 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.
In a statement, Global said the transport focused assets of Exterion will make “a perfect fit” with Global’s current OOH portfolio of mostly roadside business. Exterion’s TfL contract is worth around £150m per year and is set to last for another seven years.
Exterion CEO Leon Taviansky will transition with the business to Global Outdoor, which will be overseen by Stephen Miron, Global’s Group CEO.
Global’s newly created outdoor (OOH) division, will live alongside Global’s radio business.
“Global’s binding offer to acquire Exterion Media complements our recent purchase of Primesight and Outdoor Plus,” said Miron.
“The incredibly positive reaction we have had to the news of our entrance into the OOH sector only reaffirms our belief and excitement about the opportunities within the Outdoor market. Exterion has a great track record in the UK and across Europe and we look forward to working with the team to develop the business further.”
Taviansky added: “Like many others I was very impressed to see Global enter the OOH market and can fully understand why Exterion Media sits very well within Global’s OOH portfolio. We look forward to joining the Global family.”
Commenting on the deal, Dino Myers Lamptey, MD at MullenLowe Mediahub, said in the age of multichannel TV, it has long been said that posters are the last ‘broadcast’ medium available to marketers.
“While this may not be entirely true of our UK media landscape in which TV achieves an average weekly reach of 91% of adults, the ability to reach larger audiences in single moments has become fewer and far between. This trend only puts Outdoor in a more unique place. One protected by the fact that even in a world of precision and personalised targeting, adblockers and subscriptions services, people will still go outside to get loafs of bread and to socialise.”
Lamptey added that Global has been fast to realise the power of OOH as a medium and the strength that consolidation in this market may give.
“This shrewd move was perhaps in part because they had already been working in partnership with the likes of Primesight and DAX in linking Digital Radio with Geo-located Outdoor sites, though also perhaps influenced by the announcement of Google’s aim to get into this space.”
Completion of the deal is anticipated by the end of 2018.
