NEW YORK, Sept. 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — OUTFRONT Media Inc. (NYSE: OUT) announced today that it has acquired 22 large-format static billboards and 16 digital displays in the city of Chicago, Illinois from Total Outdoor.

“This tuck-in acquisition strengthens our strong position in Chicago, the third largest DMA in the U.S. and one of our most important markets.  All of the acquired inventory is in high profile areas and represents the only large format inside the Loop,” said Jeremy Male, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of OUTFRONT Media. “In the first half of 2019, OUTFRONT Media has led a resurgent out-of-home market and we look forward to the opportunity to invest further in Chicago to contribute to its growth and success.”

Insider’s take:  Maybe OUTFRONT’s strong financial performance is emboldening it to do more acquisitions.  The Total Outdoor buy follows OUTFRONT purchases in Atlanta and the Bay Area earlier this year.  Total Outdoor is funded by private equity fund Flexis Capital.  Flexis has been invested in Total since 2011 which is a long time in private equity land. The sale of the Chicago assets, which Total purchased in 2012, follows the sale of San Francisco assets to New Tradition in July 2019 and the sale of Portland/Seattle to Pacific Outdoor in December 2018.  Total retains assets in Detroit, Los Angeles, Boston and Minneapolis put Insider expects to see them sold soon as Flexis pursues liquidity.

The market was not impressed.  OUTFRONT stock closed the day down 1.5% on a day when Clear Channel Outdoor was flat, Lamar was up 0.19% and the S&P 500 was flat.

[wpforms id=”9787″]

Paid Advertisement