Lamar Advertising Company Announces Acquisition of Five Markets From Clear Channel

BATON ROUGE, La., Jan. 07, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Lamar Advertising Company (Nasdaq:LAMR), a leading owner and operator of outdoor advertising and logo sign displays, announces today that it has acquired the assets of Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings, Inc., (NYSE:CCO) in five U.S. markets.

"We are always thrilled to add high-quality, REIT-eligible assets in attractive markets to our portfolio,” said Lamar chief executive Sean Reilly.  “Given Clear Channel’s goal of focusing on its core markets, this is a transaction that makes great sense for both of us.  We look forward to bringing our outstanding customer service and dynamic digital-advertising capabilities to Cleveland, Seattle/Tacoma, Des Moines, Memphis and Reno.”

The markets were purchased for $458.5 million in cash and add more than 5,500 bulletin and poster faces, including 132 digital displays, in these five markets to Lamar’s portfolio.  Lamar expects the acquisition to be accretive to Adjusted Funds From Operations per share in 2016.

J.P. Morgan Securities LLC acted as sole financial advisor to Lamar on the transaction.  Lamar financed the acquisition using $160 million of revolver borrowings and a $300 million term loan bridge facility provided by J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, N.A.

Kean Miller LLP and Locke Lord LLP acted as legal advisors to Lamar.

Conference Call Information

A conference call will be held for investors and analysts on Thursday, January 7, 2016 at 3:30 p.m. central time.  Instructions for the conference call and Webcast are provided below:

Forward Looking Statements

Statements included herein that are not historical facts, including without limitation statements concerning the strategic benefits of the acquisition are forward-looking statements.  Such forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties and are subject to change at any time.  In the event such risks or uncertainties materialize, Lamar’s results could be materially adversely affected.  The risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, difficulties in integrating the acquired markets that may lead to in inability to realize the expected operating efficiencies, cost savings, revenue enhancements, synergies or other benefits at the time anticipated or at all, and other risks and uncertainties detailed from time to time in Lamar’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including those risks outlined in “Item 1A: Risk Factors” in Lamar’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014.

General Information

Founded in 1902, Lamar Advertising Company is one of the largest outdoor advertising companies in North America, with more than 323,000 displays across the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. Lamar offers advertisers a variety of billboard, interstate logo and transit advertising formats, helping both local businesses and national brands reach broad audiences every day. In addition to its more traditional out-of-home inventory, Lamar is proud to offer its customers the largest network of digital billboards in the United States with over 2,300 displays.

Company Contact:
Buster Kantrow
Director of Investor Relations
(225) 926-1000
[email protected]