oOh!media still thinking of capital raising, asks ASX for voluntary suspension
Outdoor advertising group considering a capital raising but ‘not yet in a position to make an announcement’.
Outdoor advertising group oOh!media has requested a voluntary suspension from the Australian Securities Exchange to give it more time to raise capital, just days after seeking a trading halt for 48 hours for the same reason.
The company, which was the first within the Australian media industry to abandon its annual earnings guidance because of the fallout from the coronavirus, said it is "considering a capital raising and is not yet in a position to make an announcement".
"oOh!media considers it appropriate that it enters into a voluntary suspension so that it can manage its continuous disclosure obligations and to avoid the marketing trading in oOh! shares on a basis that is not reasonably informed," the group said in a statement on Tuesday morning.
The group, which operates billboards across more than 37,000 locations across Australia and New Zealand, expects that the voluntary suspension would be needed for up to five trading days.
oOh!media's push for some breathing space comes a day after it was disclosed that US investment management group HMI Capital had raised its stake in the company to 18.6 per cent, two days before its trading halt.
Media companies are scrambling to review the damage to its business and advertising revenue from the escalating uncertainty relating to COVID-19, with Southern Cross Media requesting a trading halt on Monday for two days.
The broadcaster said it is assessing the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on its business, which consists of more than 80 radio stations under the Triple M and Hit Networks brands.
oOh!media last Friday called a trading halt for two trading days to give it time to meet shareholders and lenders to discuss a possible capital raising.
Outgoing chief executive Brendon Cook denied the company had liquidity problems, even though it had net debt of $354.5m at the end of December, which equates to 2.6 times its underlying earnings. He also denied it was in talks with potential buyers.
The company, which also owns digital publisher Junkee Media and printing business Cactus, abandoned its full-year earnings guidance on March 16, blaming the deteriorating macroeconomic conditions and uncertainty caused by the coronavirus.
Since then a raft of media companies have followed suit, including Nine Entertainment, REA Group, Prime Media and most recently Seven West Media.
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