Quebecor Media Inc., via its Quebecor Out-of-Home division, has reached an agreement in principle with Media Group Inc. to acquire NEO-OOH’s Canada-wide out-of-home advertising business.
When the deal closes, Quebecor Out-of-Home’s footprint will expand to more than 17,000 advertising faces across Canada. The transaction is subject to customary conditions and is expected to close in the coming weeks.
“We are very pleased to have reached this agreement in principle with NEO, a solid company with which we share values of excellence in both performance and customer service,” said Pierre Karl Péladeau, President and CEO of Quebecor. “By combining NEO’s Canada-wide strength with Quebecor Out-of-Home’s unrivalled depth in Québec, we’ll be able to offer our local and national advertising partners an even more comprehensive suite of impactful solutions. This acquisition will enable Quebecor to pursue its growth across the country and become a major out-of-home player in Canada.”
The expansion of Quebecor’s out-of-home network with the addition of NEO will further enhance and diversify Quebecor Expertise Media’s multiplatform offering. Quebecor’s integrated sales force offers advertisers powerful leverage through 10 TV channels, including TVA and LCN, with a combined 41% market share, 30 websites and apps, 2 newspapers, 12 print and digital magazines, a digital radio station that also broadcasts on TV and FM, and a comprehensive out-of-home network (transit shelters, shopping centres, sports venues, gas stations, convenience stores and mobile).
“It is an honour to pass the torch of NEO’s growth to a company of Quebecor’s stature,” said Ronald Tapiero, President and CEO of Media Group. “I am confident that Quebecor Out-of-Home will take our NEO Shopping, NEO Fitness, NEO On The Go and NEO Mobile networks to the next level. I am grateful to all the associates who have been part of the NEO adventure, which began 22 years ago. I thank Pierre Karl Péladeau, Michel Drouin of Quebecor Out-of-Home and the entire Quebecor management team for placing their trust in us.”
NEO’s out-of-home networks include more than 3,000 advertising faces at over 600 sites in 250 communities across nine Canadian provinces. They include NEO Shopping (shopping malls), NEO Fitness (gyms), NEO On The Go (gas stations and convenience stores) and NEO Mobile (smartphones, tablets and computers).
Quebecor Out-of-Home, a subsidiary of Quebecor, a Canadian leader in telecommunications, entertainment, news media and culture, has been managing and operating out-of-home advertising networks since 2012. It now has the largest inventory of street furniture in Québec with over 14,000 advertising faces, including an extensive network of standard and digital transit shelters, as well as advertising faces on taxi screens, taxi domes and buses. With its unrivalled market coverage and advertising faces strategically located where consumers are, Quebecor Out-of-Home is the logical choice for reaching urban dwellers with creative advertising campaigns.
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