Pacific Equity Partners has reportedly made a $747 million non-binding indicative offer to acquire ASX-listed out-of-home media company oOh!media.
As first reported by the Australian Financial Review’s Street Talk column, the private equity firm has put forward a $1.40 per share proposal, representing a 65 per cent premium to oOh!media’s last traded price.
The offer also represents a 50 per cent premium to the company’s one-month volume-weighted average price. oOh!media was trading at 85 cents per share, giving it a market capitalisation of about $477.5 million.
PEP seeks due diligence access
According to the AFR, Pacific Equity Partners approached key shareholders last week before tabling the bid. The firm is expected to ask oOh!media’s board for access to due diligence.
Macquarie Capital and Gilbert + Tobin are advising PEP on the proposed transaction.
The approach comes after a difficult period for oOh!media shareholders, with the company’s share price down 43 per cent over the past year. Its stock peaked above $1.80 in August last year.
Contract loss and market pressure
oOh!media has been navigating uncertainty after losing the Auckland Transport contract, which represented about four per cent of revenue in the 2024 financial year.
For the 2025 calendar year, the company reported a 9 per cent lift in revenue to $691.4 million. Underlying EBITDA came in at $139.1 million.
The bid also lands at a time when analysts are weighing the outlook for out-of-home media against broader advertising market pressures.
The AFR reported that Morgan Stanley analyst Andrew McLeod has a $1.55 per share price target on oOh!media. McLeod described the company as a cyclical advertising business and noted competition for advertising dollars has “never been more competitive” against major digital platforms, including Google and Meta.
However, McLeod said in February the sector’s new audience measurement platform could help support the market.
“Like any cyclical business, there are risks of course, but after a 16 per cent sell-off this year, we consider the risk/return attractive, trading well below the long-term average P/E of 17-times and below most global out-of-home peers,” he said, according to the AFR.
Outdoor sector remains active
The reported offer follows a major deal in the Australian outdoor advertising market, after Nine Entertainment struck an $850 million agreement to acquire QMS Media late last year.
At the time, Nine Entertainment chief executive Matt Stanton said he was confident in the sector because outdoor advertising was more insulated from the rise of artificial intelligence and could help Nine compete for advertising revenue against big tech.
PEP has prior exposure to the media sector, having owned Val Morgan as part of its investment in Hoyts. The firm also raised $3.2 billion for Fund VII last year, according to the AFR.
The private equity firm has also pursued several large ASX take-private deals in recent years, including a $1.3 billion bid for Johns Lyng Group in 2025 and a $1.4 billion acquisition of SG Fleet a year earlier.
Top image: oOh!media