Antin to Acquire Wildstone, the Leading Outdoor Media Infrastructure Company in the UK
02 August 2022 - 04:25PM
Business Wire
Wildstone is poised to lead the digitisation
of outdoor media infrastructure, with over 3,000 billboards across
the UK, Ireland and the Netherlands
Regulatory News:
Antin Infrastructure Partners (Paris:ANTIN) announced today that
Antin Flagship Fund IV has agreed to acquire Wildstone, the leading
owner of independent outdoor media infrastructure in the UK, from
DigitalBridge Group. Wildstone marks Flagship Fund IV’s final
investment.
Founded in 2010 by CEO Damian Cox, Wildstone is one of the
fastest growing owners of outdoor media infrastructure and has a
portfolio of over 3,000 billboards across the UK and Europe,
including premium digital billboards located along major roads.
Wildstone has been at the forefront of the digital revolution in
the sector and has shifted the focus of the entire industry away
from paper to digital.
Wildstone’s business benefits from significant tailwinds as the
UK and European outdoor media market is at the early stages of
transformation and its growth is on a fast upward trajectory thanks
to the shift to digital. Wildstone’s premium assets are
increasingly in demand by leading global media companies seeking
high quality, flexible and long-term media distribution
infrastructure.
The Wildstone management team has a proven track record of
growing its portfolio by acquiring traditional paper panel assets
and upgrading them to next-generation screen technology backed by
long-term inflation-linked contracts. Antin looks forward to
partnering with Wildstone in this next chapter of its growth and
replicating the platform’s success in the UK across new European
markets.
Damian Cox, CEO and Founder of Wildstone, stated: “Europe
represents a huge untapped opportunity and expansion to these
territories is a natural extension of our business model which is
to acquire, upgrade and scale. The future of outdoor media
infrastructure is digital and we are, by far, the best positioned
to capture a substantial piece of the global market share. Antin
recognises the significant growth potential and together we are
well placed to accelerate expansion.”
Stéphane Ifker, Senior Partner at Antin, commented: “With the UK
market expected to achieve 70% digitisation within 10 years, we are
excited to support Wildstone in scaling up UK operations and
replicating its success across key European markets. Outdoor media
infrastructure is a trusted broadcast medium with a national reach,
which makes it essential for the advertising value chain and public
stakeholders.”
DC Advisory acted as financial adviser to Antin, Kirkland &
Ellis acted as legal adviser to Antin while Bain acted as a
commercial adviser, Alvarez & Marsal as a financial & tax
diligence adviser, and Mott MacDonald provided technical due
diligence. Greenhill is serving as financial adviser to Wildstone
on its sale by DigitalBridge, Linklaters is serving as legal
adviser to DigitalBridge, Lewis Silkin is serving as legal adviser
to Wildstone, and PwC is acting as financial & tax adviser to
Wildstone.
The transaction is expected to close in Q3 of 2022.
About Wildstone
Launched in 2010, Wildstone is the leading owner of independent
outdoor media infrastructure in the UK. Wildstone provides leading
global media companies with secure long-term access to high
quality, flexible media distribution infrastructure. For further
information about Wildstone, please visit: www.wildstone.co.uk
About Antin Infrastructure
Partners
Antin Infrastructure Partners is a leading private equity firm
focused on infrastructure. With over €22 billion in assets under
management across its Flagship, Mid Cap and NextGen investment
strategies, Antin targets investments in the energy and
environment, telecom, transport and social infrastructure sectors.
With offices in Paris, London, New York, Singapore and Luxembourg,
Antin employs over 190 professionals dedicated to growing,
improving and transforming infrastructure businesses while
delivering long-term value to portfolio companies and investors.
Majority owned by its partners, Antin is listed on Euronext Paris
(Ticker: ANTIN – ISIN: FR0014005AL0).
About DigitalBridge Group,
Inc.
DigitalBridge (NYSE: DBRG) is a leading global digital
infrastructure investment firm. With a heritage of over 25 years
investing in and operating businesses across the digital ecosystem
including cell towers, data centers, fiber, small cells, and edge
infrastructure, the DigitalBridge team manages a $47 billion
portfolio of digital infrastructure assets on behalf of its limited
partners and shareholders. Headquartered in Boca Raton,
DigitalBridge has key offices in New York, Los Angeles, London, and
Singapore.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220801005910/en/
Media Antin
Infrastructure Partners Nicolle Graugnard, Communication
Director Email: nicolle.graugnard@antin-ip.com
Ludmilla Binet, Head of Shareholder Relations Email:
ludmilla.binet@antin-ip.com
Brunswick Email: antinip@brunswickgroup.com Tristan
Roquet Montegon +33 (0) 6 37 00 52 57 Gabriel Jabès +33 (0) 6 40 87
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