Baton Rouge’s Lamar Media Buys NextMedia Outdoor Inc.

Baton Rouge-based Lamar Advertising Company announced a few weeks back that Lamar Media Corp., a subsidiary of Lamar Outdoor Advertising, was acquiring NextMedia Outdoor Inc. for an estimated $145 million. NextMedia provides outdoor advertising in Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, North and South Carolina, Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

Lamar Advertising Company is the largest sole billboard provider in the country, with more than 151,000 billboards, 103,000 logo sign displays and 60 transit advertising franchises reaching audiences across North America.  They’ve recently initiated programs to have their billboards run on solar power and to make them more energy efficient.  They’ve also moved into software, launching iPhone app Road Ninja, designed to tell highway travelers what stores, restaurants and gas stations are coming up.

To fund the deal, Lamar Media Corp. sold $535 million of 5 percent Senior Subordinated Notes due in 2023 through an institutional private placement and redeemed higher-interest notes. The net proceeds, estimated at $527.1 million, will be used to fund the acquisition of NextMedia Outdoor Inc. along with potential future acquisitions, according to a company release.