JCDecaux Top Media and Grupo Publigrafik merge their activities in Central America, becoming the most diversified outdoor advertising platform in terms of geographies and products as well as services

JCDecaux SE (Euronext Paris: DEC), the number one outdoor advertising company worldwide, announces that its majority-owned subsidiary JCDecaux Top Media and Grupo Publigrafik's outdoor advertising branch in Central America have merged today. Under this agreement, the new joint-venture which will operate in 6 countries (Guatemala, Panama, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua) is owned by JCDecaux SE [55.6%], Grupo Publigrafik’s existing shareholders [27%] and Top Partners [17.4%].

Created in 1989 in Guatemala by Moises Beer and Enrique Beer, Grupo Publigrafik is a family-owned group with operations across several sectors including outdoor advertising. Grupo Publigrafik is the second largest OOH company in Central America, after JCDecaux Top Media, with a significant presence in Guatemala, as well as in El Salvador, Costa Rica and Panama.

With a combined population of 51.6 million inhabitants in 2023 (source: UN estimates), Central America has proven to be a dynamic market, thanks to its unique geographical position, including the Panama Canal, high mobility indices and advertising investments estimated to be over US$2.2 billion.

This merger between two family-owned groups will be a real growth driver for outdoor advertising, which represents around 6.5% of the region's advertising market (source: Kantar Ibope and Integrametrics), lower than the market share global average, but continually increasing.

The combined expertise of JCDecaux and Grupo Publigrafik will open up new opportunities for advertisers within a highly fragmented advertising market. Advertisers will benefit from a range of increasingly effective and targeted communication solutions based on premium locations in street furniture, billboards, and transport (20,000 advertising panels), as well as high-performance measurement indicators. JCDecaux will provide its expertise in DOOH (Digital Out-of-Home), in which it has made numerous productive investments, contributing to the growth of the medium. Brands will have access to data-led media solutions allowing relevant activations across the entire marketing funnel.

Raul Beer, CEO of Grupo Publigrafik, said: “This merger with JCDecaux represents a pivotal moment in the trajectory of Grupo Publigrafik. Founded by my father, Moises Beer and my uncle Enrique Beer, our company has always been anchored in values that prioritise innovation, creativity, sustainability, and client satisfaction. This merger with JCDecaux, whose values we share, not only strengthens our coverage in the Central American outdoor advertising market but also accentuates our joint commitment to deliver unique and effective solutions, while maintaining our core values.”

Alfredo Aleman, Arturo Zarate and Francisco Alonso, Founding Shareholders of Top Media, said: “As historic partners of JCDecaux in Central America, we are delighted to reinforce this association with Grupo Publigrafik, one of the most recognised outdoor advertising group in the region. This merger is fully aligned with the foundations upon which we have created Top Media in 1999 and later joined forces with JCDecaux in 2016. Together, we will reinforce our regional footprint to better cater the needs of local and international advertisers as well as continuing to deliver authorities with the highest quality and most innovative services across Central America.”

Jean-Charles Decaux, Co-CEO of JCDecaux, said: “We are delighted to establish the merger of our Central American subsidiary, which is driven by entrepreneurial values and high-quality teams, with Grupo Publigrafik, a family-owned group. This will provide advertisers with increasingly effective and innovative solutions for delivering their communication plans. This merger marks a significant milestone in our development in the region, leveraging the many opportunities in this dynamic advertising market. With this new entity, we remain committed to delivering a premium quality, high impact and sustainable media offering, strengthened by our ESG commitments and our reduction in energy consumption – which is 20% lower in 2022 compared to 2019 in Central America – benefiting our city partners, transport companies and airports as well our advertisers and the public.”