HT&E in hunt for oOh!media

HT&E sold oOh!media its outdoor advertising business Adshel for $570m in 2018.

Here There and Everywhere’s decision to outlay $15m for a 4.2 per cent interest in oOh! media has some wondering whether it made advances to its rival when it was desperately trying to secure funds for a $167m equity raising last month.

One theory is that HT&E was rebuffed by its competitor after it extended a lifeline to the business through some sort of merger proposal and instead went and bought up shares separately.

Yet another is that oOh! media could in fact welcome the radio broadcaster’s advances, in the hope of a merger, attracted to a strong balance sheet because of its debt.

Credit Suisse is likely to be working with HT&E. Macquarie Capital recently executed oOh!media’s equity raising.

HT&E sold oOh!media its outdoor advertising business Adshel for $570m in 2018, leaving it as the owner of the Australian Radio Network with station brands such as KIIS and Pure Gold.

Should it buy it back, it would be getting the business at a fraction of the price it was sold for.

And it comes at a time the oOh!media operation is vulnerable to lost advertising revenue.

HT&E it has no drawn debt, and cash on its balance sheet of $111m at December.

HT&E’s market value is $347m while oOh!media is worth $359m, so it is unlikely to afford a deal, but a merger makes sense.

It may also have to outlay millions of dollars from a looming tax liability.

The transaction may just be a strategic stake for the future, but one option could be for HT&E to buy oOh!media with another backer.

After it sold its Adshel business to oOh!media, it was always thought to be on the acquisition path, or open to being snapped up by a buyout fund. A merger between the companies could make HT&E much more attractive itself as a takeover target.