The bargain hunters are circling oOh!media, with two takeover offers on the table and others lining up.
A second private equity firm, I Squared Capital, has made a bid to takeover oOh!media, increasing the offer to $1.45 a share from the $1.40 by Pacific Equity Partners (PEP).
The outdoor media player has rejected both offers.
“The board of directors of oOh!media Limited has considered both proposals in conjunction with its advisers and has unanimously determined that neither proposal adequately reflects the intrinsic value of oOh!,” the company told the ASX.
“The board has informed both PEP and ISQ that it does not intend to recommend to shareholders any formal binding offer at or below the value of their respective non‑binding indicative proposals.”
However, oOh!t is prepared to provide the two private equity firms access to a limited amount of due diligence information to enable each party to assess whether it is able to put forward a revised proposal.
“oOh! is also engaging with certain other parties and may potentially receive change of control proposals from one or more of those parties and potentially other parties,” the company said.
“oOh! is open to engaging with all parties to assess whether any proposal may emerge that is capable of being recommended by the board.”
Market analysts have been long upbeat on the outdoor media sector and see more upside for oOh! if it can gain more market share.
However, the advertising market is currently in a soft phase, with global economic winds turning foul.
And oOh! has a new CEO, James Taylor, the former managing director of SBS, who is only just getting started on plans to lift the company’s performance.
In the latest financial results, oOh!media lifted revenue 8.8% to $691.36 million for the year to December, despite a tougher advertising market in the second half of the year.
Adjusted underlying net profit after tax (NPAT) was up 7% to $63 million and the company declared a fully franked final dividend of 4 cents a share, up 14%.
James Taylor, who replaced Cath O'Connor as chief executive, has promised a more responsive outdoor media company, investing in the tools needed by its sales teams to make dealing with oOh! easier.
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