APN Outdoor


APN Outdoor is an Australian outdoor advertising company based in Sydney, Australia. The company was founded by APN News & Media in 2004 when it consolidated the operations of its acquired outdoor ad firms Cody, Australian Posters and Buspak. The company was acquired by JCDecaux in 2018.

History

In 2011, APN News & Media sold half the business to Quadrant Private Equity, and sold the other half for A$70 million in 2013. This severed business links from APN News & Media, despite retaining the name "APN", which caused some confusion in the market until APN News & Media rebranded as HT&E in 2017.
The business was listed as a public company on the ASX in 2014. At the time of listing, Quadrant retained a 20% stake in the company and management held 2.5%.
Richard Herring was CEO of the company from its founding until retiring after 22 years in 2017. James Warburton became CEO in 2017.

Proposed merger

In 2017, APN Outdoor had planned to merge with rival outdoor advertising company oOh!media, however both sides cancelled their plans following preliminary concerns from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.

Takeover offer from JCDecaux

In June 2018, French multinational firm JCDecaux made a takeover bid worth A$1.1 billion, suggesting APN Outdoor would complement the former's existing Australian assets. The takeover was approved in late 2018, shortly after which APN Outdoor ceased trading on the ASX to become a subsidiary of JCDecaux.