by Brent Baer, Publisher, OOH Today
Visiting NYC is always a productive and interesting time. Last week was no exception. Attending the various events through the week and particularly the #1 event, namely last Tuesday’s DPAA Summit, the information shared, permits our ‘Word on the Street’ column to write itself.
The news and insights shared with us were too numerous to report. And many were not suitable for publication. Yes, it’s a rough world out there.
The following ‘reports’ were shared with our promise of autonomy, nevertheless, they are told to us by multiple sources. Let’s chalk them up to scuttlebutt and intelligence gathering, along with my opinions. Please, do not go out and do anything rash after reading. I trust you will be challenged by the thoughts below and as always, welcomed and encouraged to express your comments.
1. #Clear Channel Outdoor Sale is Rumored, again
According to Seeking Alpha and one historically knowledgeable individual in the area of mergers and acquisitions, who I spoke with at the DPAA Summit, Clear Channel Outdoor, has been reportedly in talks to sell (the entire enchilada) with Mubadala Capital. Mubadala is the asset management arm of Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth.
Mubadala is reportedly working on the potential purchase of CCO, this according to Bloomberg as well. That said, no one from either CCO or Mubadala, is confirming or acknowledging talks. It is also reported that the talks are ‘ongoing’.
As a reminder for you ‘non numbers’ folks out there, CCO has a market cap of over $700 million and a..ehem, debt of about $6.4 BILLION.
Clear Channel Outdoor (NYSE:CCO) stock price soared 27% after the report that Mubadala Capital is exploring a purchase of the billboard company. Reports are all over the place in the news and no one we typically obtain stealth reports from, is picking up their phones or texts, responding back to us. Maybe that’s a sign it is more serious than the typical rumor? Maybe not. Don’t go out and do anything rash.
2. Wilkins acquires EMC Outdoor
That is the word from several OOH Sales people, again sourced from the DPAA Summit— sharing that Jon Selame, CEO at Wilkins Media, has acquired another OOH buying service. This time it is Boston based, EMC Outdoor , who was run by Betsey McLarney, CEO/Owner (27+ Years at EMC) and Christie Massey, President. Calls and attempts to reach the named parties were not returned.
Here’s some foreshadowing. Two months ago, McLarney, posted a story via LinkedIn, which has since been removed— Lost In The Shuffle: Why Mid-Market Brands Need Specialist Advertising Agencies More Than Ever
3. Building a Mega OOH Company ‘Part Deux‘
Back in late October of 2023, we shared that arguably titled, ‘the last king of OOH‘, Arte Moreno, was buying up a great deal of CCO and OUT stock. (OOH ‘Word on the Street’ Today.)
“Arte Moreno is substantively investing in both Clear Channel ( 7+%) and OUTFRONT Media (5+%)”.
At that time, we also suggested that perhaps Moreno is considering moving back into OOH. “If there is a person who could put together CCO and OUT, as one Mega OOH Company, making that happen; it would be Arte Moreno.”
Just when we have all but forgotten the conjecture Moreno may be contemplating retuning to his native OOH life, new speculation surfaces he may be building an OOH company the hard way; by acquiring one OOH independent at a time. This whispered rumble, is so deep and buried amongst the pages from our research team discovering: 1. recently departed OOH vets who voluntarily left their long term OOH jobs to manage this ‘start up’ and 2. Independents who were contacted but remained dissuaded from a sale.
It has been a tough one to bear out the belief shared by our reliable authority who brought the rumor to us initially. Is it true? While we sure would like it to be, we do not really know. If you have heard anything please drop us note. BillBoard@OOHToday.com And we will leave it at that …for now.
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