Paris, 13 September 2005 - JCDecaux SA (Euronext Paris : DEC), the number one outdoor advertising company in Europe and number two worldwide, announced today that it has acquired Texon International Limited (“Texon”), Hong Kong’s N°1 bus shelter advertising company for a cash consideration of 153.0 MHK$ (€ 15.8 million). The acquisition strengthens JCDecaux’s already leading position in outdoor advertising in China.
Texon operates the advertising on Hong Kong’s world-class bus shelter networks under long-term franchises for the three leading bus operators. In total, the network encompasses more than 4,800 advertising panels and reported total revenues of HK$71.1 million (€ 7.6 million) in the year ended 31 December 2004.
During the year, JCDecaux has significantly strengthened its position in the rapidly growing outdoor advertising market in China. In January, the Group became an exclusive partner of Airports of Shanghai through a 15 year contract, and in April acquired MediaNation, one of the leading Chinese outdoor company with large transport advertising contracts in major cities in the country.
Jean-Charles Decaux, Co-CEO of JCDecaux, said: “The acquisition of Texon provides us with a pre-eminent advertising bus shelter network in Hong Kong, a city which forms a core component for our strategic growth plans in the Chinese market. Texon’s management team will operate our Street Furniture contracts in Hong Kong and Macau and will be a valuable addition to our current Hong Kong team, which will continue to separately operate our subway and airport advertising business in both cities. This acquisition further strengthens our outdoor advertising leadership in China, which is the fastest growing advertising market worldwide.”