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APN Outdoor enters trading halt ahead of anticipated JC Decaux deal

APN Outdoor has been placed in a trading halt on the ASX this morning, pending an announcement from the company.

The announcement is expected to be its acquisition by international outdoor company JC Decaux, which initially bid $1.1 billion for APN Outdoor – which APN Outdoor at the time believed was too low.

There is likely to be more consolidation in Australia’s outdoor media industry this week

The news comes as APN Outdoor’s main rival Ooh Media has announced its acquisition of JC Decaux’s biggest competitor in the outdoor street furniture space, Adshel.

Ooh Media has paid $570 million for Adshel, a significant jump from an earlier bid of $470 million.

APN Outdoor had also been involved in the bidding war for Here, There & Everywhere’s Adshel, but was ultimately unsuccessful against Ooh Media.

JC Decaux’s offer was contingent on APN Outdoor not pursuing its purchase of Adshel.

Both the Ooh Media and Adshel deal, and the anticipated JC Decaux acquisition of APN Outdoor, are subject to approval from the ACCC.

Given JC Decaux is a French company, this deal would also be subject to approval from the foreign investment review board.

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