APN in exclusive negotiations with Quadrant Private Equity
APN News & Media has entered into exclusive negotiations with Quadrant Private Equity concerning its outdoor advertising business. It comes after a strategic review concluded that the asset shouldn’t be sold but that further investment was required to support expansion.
APN said in an announcement to the Australian Stock Exchange that no final agreement had been reached with Quadrant. It will provide an update when it releases its full-year results on February 23.
The company claims the largest outdoor advertising business in Australia and New Zealand. It also owns a string of newspapers - including the New Zealand Herald - radio stations and websites in both countries, as well as a commercial printing business.
According to The Australian Financial Review, APN and Quadrant are negotiating a A$200 million ($215 million) joint venture, which could lead to wider consolidation in Australia's A$494 million outdoor advertising industry. In December 2011, CHAMP Private Equity agreed to purchase specialist outdoor media company oOh!media for A$163 million.
APN is also said to be involved in exploratory discussions with Fairfax Media regarding its publishing assets. Joint ventures are seen as a way of freeing up capital to pay down debt and invest in higher-growth areas. Outdoor advertising is APN's principal revenue generator while the print publishing business is struggling due to falling advertising sales.
More on Australasia
Latest News
Asian GPs slow implementation of ESG policies - survey
Asia-based private equity firms are assigning more dedicated resources to environment, social, and governance (ESG) programmes, but policy changes have slowed in the past 12 months, in part due to concerns raised internally and by LPs, according to a...
Singapore fintech start-up LXA gets $10m seed round
New Enterprise Associates (NEA) has led a USD 10m seed round for Singapore’s LXA, a financial technology start-up launched by a former Asia senior executive at The Blackstone Group.
India's InCred announces $60m round, claims unicorn status
Indian non-bank lender InCred Financial Services said it has received INR 5bn (USD 60m) at a valuation of at least USD 1bn from unnamed investors including “a global private equity fund.”
Insight leads $50m round for Australia's Roller
Insight Partners has led a USD 50m round for Australia’s Roller, a venue management software provider specializing in family fun parks.