<article>JCDecaux SA reached an agreement to buy APN Outdoor Group Ltd. for A$1.12 billion ($831 million) after sweetening its offer for the Australian billboard company.</article>

JCDecaux SA reached an agreement to buy APN Outdoor Group Ltd. for A$1.12 billion ($831 million) after sweetening its offer for the Australian billboard company.
The French outdoor advertiser offered A$6.70 cash for each APN share, a proposal that the Australian company’s board endorsed unanimously, according to a statement Tuesday. That’s 2.8 percent above JCDecaux’s previous unsolicited offer and 4.7 percent higher than APN’s last closing price of A$6.40. The acquisition is subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals.
APN’s billboards would help the French company, which has more than 1 million advertising panels in over 80 countries, build on its Australian business beyond street furniture such as bus stops. The proposed acquisition, which would be JCDecaux’s largest since it went public in 2001, comes as industry consolidation in Australia heats up after Ooh!media Ltd. earlier this week outbid APN for outdoor advertiser Adshel.
APN climbed 0.6 percent to A$6.44 as of 12:38 p.m. in Sydney as APN’s board proposed a special dividend of as much as A$0.30 a share that if paid out, would be taken out of JCDecaux’s offer.
<h3>Other details:</h3>
Special dividend would have as much as A$0.13-a-share in franking credits attached. APN shareholders will be entitled to an interim dividend of as much as A$0.07 a share regardless of whether the deal goes through or not. Proposal implies an enterprise value that’s 12.9 times projected earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. Deal is subject to approvals from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, the Australian Foreign Investment Review Board and the New Zealand Overseas Investment Office if required. APN investors will vote on the deal at a court-convened shareholder meeting and acquisition is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2018. APN expects to update the market on a timetable next month. Allens, Cadence Advisory and Morgan Stanley advised APN.
APN tried to merge with Ooh!media last year but gave up after the Australian industry regulator warned the deal would lessen competition in the out-of-home advertising market.
Family-controlled JCDecaux had avoided big deals in Australia, expanding gradually across the world’s seventh-biggest advertising market since winning its first contract there in 2000.
APN initially told shareholders to take no action regarding the bid from JCDecaux, as it assessed the offer and pursued the purchase of Adshel. An attempt by JCDecaux to buy a combined APN and Adshel also would have run into regulatory opposition, analysts have said.
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<a style="color: #ff0000;" href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/australias-apn-and-fairfax-in-talks-on-nz-merger-40489/">Australia’s APN and Fairfax in talks on NZ merger</a>
Bloomberg

APN’s billboards would help the French company, which has more than 1 million advertising panels in over 80 countries, build on its Australian business beyond street furniture such as bus stops.

French outdoor ad agency JC Decaux to buy Australia's APN for $831m

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French outdoor ad agency JC Decaux to buy Australia's APN for $831m

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