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HT&E rejects Ooh Media bid to buy Adshel

Here, There & Everywhere has told the market it has received an offer from Ooh Media to buy its outdoor operation Adshel, but has rejected the bid because it was too low. The amount on the table was not disclosed.

The announcement, made to the ASX this afternoon, fires the starting pistol on a widely anticipated round of consolidation in the outdoor industry.

Ooh wants to get its hands on Adshel

As well as Adshel, which specialises in street furniture advertising, HT&E also owns the Australian Radio Network and online publisher Conversant Media.

However HT&E’s board said in this afternoon’s update to the ASX that the offer “does not adequately reflect the value of Adshel to HT&E shareholders”.

The announcement said that Adshel is in line to deliver a profit of at least $113m for the current financial year, broadly similar to last year. “Ongoing initiatives include the reinstatement of Adshel Live nationally, the launch of Metro Trains Melbourne over the next four to six weeks, and continued digitisation of the street furniture network ensures Adshel remains a key operator in the out of home landscape, particularly in Melbourne,” the update continued.

Last month, Adshel also extended its contract with Sydney Trains.

At close of business today, HT&E’s market capitalisation on the ASX was $581m, while Ooh Media was $790m.

The bid comes almost a year after the failure of a merger between APN Outdoor and Ooh Media following concerns voiced by the competition watchdog.

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