CNBC Exclusive: JCDecaux Interested in Assets of Clear Channel and CBS
French outdoor advertising company JCDecaux is interested in buying assets of the outdoor advertising business of U.S. media giants Clear Channel and CBS .
"We are interested in assets of both Clear Channel and CBS should they become available," Jean-François Decaux, co-CEO of JCDecaux, told “Squawk Box Europe” on Wednesday.
JCDecaux is the world’s second-largest outdoor advertising company behind Clear Channel and before CBS Outdoor. The three companies together have a combined market share of the worldwide outdoor advertising market of about 30%.
"We see some further consolidation down the road,” Decaux said. "CBS is a multimedia company, trading at a discount versus Decaux as a pure play, and it is very clear that the pure-play media business has outperformed the multimedia."
"There is no case for bundling media for selling outdoor with radio and television," he said. "You have to give a bigger discount to the clients."
Clear Channel is holding a shareholder meeting on March 21 to vote on an $18.7 billion buyout offer from private equity Bain Capital Partners and Thomas H. Lee Partners.
JCDecaux also said Wednesday that full-year profit rose 4.1% after the company benefited from earnings at recently acquired businesses and it won more market share.
Net income rose to 201.1 million euros ($269.1 million) from 193.2 million euros in the previous year, the company said in a statement. Sales rose 12% to 1.9 billion euros ($2.5 billion).
The company expects sales growth to continue at a similar rate in 2007.
"Market share gains in most of our core European operations and an increasing contribution from our more recently developed geographies combined to drive a strong increase in both organic revenues and operating margin," Chairman Jean-Charles Decaux said.
JCDecaux shares dipped 1% to 22.14 euros ($29.20) in Paris.
