oOh!media bidding battle heats up as second suitor enters race

oOh!media is shaping up as the centre of a potential bidding contest after a second suitor entered the race for the out-of-home media company.

The ASX-listed group confirmed it has received an unsolicited, non-binding offer from I Squared Capital to acquire the business, following a $750 million bid from Pacific Equity Partners in late April.

While both bids have been rejected by oOh!media’s board as too low, the company has opened the door to further engagement, saying it is prepared to provide both parties with limited due diligence information to determine whether either can return with a revised proposal capable of winning board support.

The development places one of Australia and New Zealand’s largest out-of-home operators firmly in play at a time when the sector is being reshaped by consolidation, digitisation and the rising value of media infrastructure assets.

oOh!media said its board unanimously determined that neither proposal adequately reflected the intrinsic value of the company. It also told both I Squared Capital and PEP it would not recommend any formal binding offer at or below the value of their current proposals.

But the company also confirmed it is engaging with other parties and may receive further change-of-control proposals, suggesting interest in the business could extend beyond the two named bidders.

That raises the prospect of a broader contest for control of oOh!media, with private capital increasingly drawn to OOH operators that combine long-term physical asset networks with growing digital inventory and programmatic advertising upside.

The interest comes as Australia’s OOH market undergoes a major strategic reset. Nine recently completed its acquisition of QMS, giving the media group a national outdoor network alongside its broadcast, streaming and publishing assets. That deal has sharpened the focus on scale and cross-platform reach, with Nine positioning the enlarged business around a “sofa to street” proposition for advertisers.

For oOh!media, the twin approaches from PEP and I Squared Capital point to its strategic value in a consolidating market. The company operates a broad network of digital and static assets across roadsides, retail centres, airports, train stations, bus stops, office towers and universities in Australia and New Zealand.

The company said there is no certainty either bidder will return with a revised offer, or that any future proposal would be recommended by the board.

oOh!media has also paused its on-market share buyback program while the takeover interest plays out.