TORONTO — Bell Media announced a tentative $410-million deal Monday to buy the Canadian operations of outdoor advertising company Outfront Media Inc. in a move that experts say could solidify its hold on the out-of-home advertising market.
The acquisition, which is expected to close in 2024 subject to regulatory approval and other conditions, would see the BCE Inc. subsidiary take over Outfront Media's 9,325 advertising displays in Canada.
Bell Media, which owns television and radio stations as well as digital and out-of-home media assets, bought Astral Media in 2013 for $3.2 billion, gaining one of Canada’s largest out-of-home advertising brands.
For Bell, the Outfront deal would add to its 45,000 advertising displays that are part of the Astral brand.
Dwayne Winseck, a professor at Carleton University’s School of Journalism and Communication, said the move would increase Bell's share of the $622-million out-of-home advertising market in Canada from around 20 to 35 per cent.
"It would be the dominant player in this small part of the advertising market," he said. "It would further buttress its cross-media advertising opportunities with more addressable ad targeting capabilities."
But Winseck said there may be a larger motive by Bell "lurking in this deal" as the telecommunications company seeks to expand its footprint of 5G infrastructure.
He said 5G networks require thousands of small antennae to be placed in relatively close proximity to one another throughout service areas, which means companies need to be able to access key site locations such as street furniture and buildings.
"Companies deploying 5G … have to get permissions to access and locate their antennae on those things," said Winseck.
"Is BCE really buying just an out-of-home ad business ... or is it buying that and site locations that are essential to 5G in cities across Canada where Astral Media and Outfront Media have 50,000-plus sites? I think it's the latter."
He said if that's the case, then regulatory approval of the transaction should be conditional upon a transparent and open wholesale access regime "so that control over street furniture does not become one more arrow in BCE's quiver used to hobble mobile wireless competition."
Stewart Johnston, senior vice-president of sales and sports at Bell Media, said out-of-home advertising continues to grow in importance as a mass reach vehicle, as digital formats allow for greater targeting capabilities.
"Outfront's diverse array of Canadian assets reinforces Astral's dedication to delivering impactful, multi-channel marketing solutions, while accelerating Bell Media's digital strategy," he said in a statement.
"The synergy between Outfront's established expertise and our commitment to driving innovation will provide clients with tremendous opportunities on a true coast-to-coast footprint."
Outfront Media chair and chief executive Jeremy Male said the sale would provide the company with additional financial flexibility as it focuses on its U.S. assets.
National Bank of Canada Financial Markets analyst Adam Shine said outdoor signage is a growing segment in media "that is relatively less exposed to secular pressures."
"The Outfront platform involves a higher mix of traditional outdoor signage compared to Astral, which consists of a lot of metro and airport signage as well as so-called street furniture (columns, bus stops)," Shine said in a note to investors on Monday.
Shine noted Outfront's portfolio is more geographically diverse than that of Astral, which could satisfy any competition concerns surrounding the deal.
"While the Astral business skews 75 per cent to Quebec and 25 per cent to Ontario, the Outfront business in Canada is about 50 per cent out west, 40 per cent or more in Ontario, and the rest in Quebec," he said.
"As such, this appears to be a geographic complement for Bell Media which need not necessarily trigger serious regulatory concerns, but we'll see what the Competition Bureau says."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2023.
Companies in this story: (TSX:BCE)
Sammy Hudes, The Canadian Press
