At last weeks IBO meeting, Billboard Insider was ask to provide an assessment on the current state of acquisition activity in Out of Home which, quite frankly, has been unprecedented.  Rather than just give our own opinion, we reached out to the experts at five of the M&A firms that serve the Out of Home industry.

We received comments from:

• Williamson Associates – Marty Williamson
• SignValue – Paul Wright
• Drachman M&A Co. – Max Drachman
• Kalil & Co. – Lou McDermott
• Johnsen, Fretty & Co. –  Jim Johnsen

This week, we want to go through their thoughts in a little more detail and let you know who made the comments.   Here are their thoughts on the market.

In general, could you provide an overview on the current state of the M&A market?

Marty Williamson – Mergers and acquisitions in OOH continue to be strong thus far in 2022. We see many buyers with cash or financing that are still looking to make acquisitions. Sellers are also active and I think we may see several go on the market this year who have been sitting on the sideline and may be concerned that the market could cool off in the coming months due to higher interest rates & inflation.

Paul Wright – This is probably the most active M&A market we have seen in the last 20 years. The consolidation of the industry in the late 90’s was similar. The consolidation period involved many companies who had recently gone public or had plans to do so very soon, so it involved different players. Today a lot of the M&A activity is medium sized regional players buying other smaller players to aggregate a critical mass.

Max Drachman – Surging. We’ve closed 21 deals in the last six months. Likely more than any other firm in the history of this space.

Lou McDermott – We continue to find the M&A market to be robust, but with buyers outnumbering sellers, there is insufficient inventory at this time.

Are Clear Channel Outdoor, Lamar and OUTFRONT still looking for strategic fits?

Paul Wright – Yes, the Big 3 are still actively interested in tuck in acquisitions that make sense based on their footprint. This is especially true if they can quiet a competitor that is driving rates down or that has a few key locations that are the best in a particular market.

Jim Johnsen – The Big 3 are always looking for acquisitions that offer an excellent strategic fit for them. Wall Street demands growth, and organic growth is limited for the Big 3. It’s the law of large numbers. When you are pushing $2 billion of revenues, another 10 digital back to backs at $1MM a piece doesn’t move the needle. So if you are one of the Big 3, you have to be in the acquisition game.

Max Drachman – Yes, we’ve closed deals with all three in last six months and have 8 deals under LOI with the big three as buyers right now.

Marty Williamson – Yes, this continues to be the case and now we expect to see more activity from Clear Channel who has been less active in the past few years.

[wpforms id=”9787″]

Paid Advertisement