It has been a while since Insider has checked in with Kalil, how is business?
Good to hear from you Dave. Business has been strong. We have had two closings so far in July, and have a few more upcoming shortly.
Can you tell us about the deals?
Certainly. A couple of weeks ago we sold a single, high profile, digital unit in Arlington, TX. The unit was new and the owners were able to generate strong ad rates based on the quality of the location. Much like everything else we see in North Texas currently, there was a lot of interest. We received a half dozen or so offers and closed after three or four weeks of diligence.
We also represented Clean Zone Marketing in their divestiture to Brite Media Group. Clean Zone is a transit advertising company with bus wraps and bus shelters throughout the Midwest. They have grown quickly over the last five years and reached a point where the operator needed some back office and sales support to sustain their growth trajectory. Brite Media is a leading player in non-traditional advertising and has the infrastructure and resources in place to help Clean Zone become a leader in the transit advertising business. Clean Zone management is continuing with Brite Media and we expect to hear exciting things from them in the future.
Is there anything new going on in the marketplace that our readers should be aware of?
Nothing of consequence comes to mind, but things are certainly very interesting out there. We are eager to find out what happens with the MTA contract in New York, and have noticed some progress in iHeart’s debt restructuring. There are many healthy independents out there that are active, and we seem to get calls from new groups (from outside the business) that want in every week. As an industry, we have been riding on a wave for the last five years or so, and it seems like we are in the midst of a golden era of Outdoor health and prosperity.
Another interesting thing happening is the evolution of digital Outdoor advertising. We are in the middle of a cycling out of the first LEDs that were installed 7-10 years ago, with the new generation LEDs going up (which look fantastic). LED prices have come down and warranties are getting longer. I wonder that the next generation holds, and I’m excited about what our business will look like in another 10 years.
