oOh!media's Sell-Off Ends in a Private Equity Bidding War

Softer advertising conditions drove the stock to a low of 85 cents, before competing takeover bids confirmed the value fund managers had been arguing was there all along.

31 Jul 2026 · 2 min read

oOh!media fell more than a third from $1.80 to a low of 85 cents as softer advertising conditions weighed on the stock through early 2026, only for competing private equity bids from Pacific Equity Partners and I Squared Capital to validate the strategic value of its outdoor media assets and drive a 53 percent quarterly rally.

Softer ad markets bite, even at a cheap valuation

Investors Mutual Limited said the stock fell 12.7 percent after the company announced a weaker than expected end to the year as advertising market conditions deteriorated, leaving shares trading on less than 10 times CY26 earnings, a level at which the fund believed oOh!media remained an attractive way to play a structurally growing advertising medium in out-of-home, and a potential target for industry consolidation.

With shares trading on less than 10x CY26 PE we believe OML remains an attractive way to play a structurally growing ad medium (out-of-home) and is a potential target for industry consolidation.

— Investors Mutual Limited, Quarterly Report, December 2025

A sharp fall creates a buying opportunity

Perpetual Asset Management said the stock returned 15.4 percent in May, its top contributor for a second consecutive month, having been under pressure for much of the calendar year amid concerns over softer advertising conditions driven by higher-for-longer inflation expectations, with the share price falling more than a third year to date to a low of 85 cents in late April, before Perpetual began increasing its position again below $1.00, believing the stock undervalued.

Competing takeover bids validate the value

Lennox Capital Partners said oOh!media contributed positively for a second consecutive month after receiving a non-binding indicative offer from I Squared Capital at $1.45 cash per share, exceeding an earlier proposal from Pacific Equity Partners at $1.40, arguing the emergence of competing interest validates the strategic value of the company's outdoor media assets and market position. Investors Mutual Limited noted two of its stocks under real pressure had both received takeover bids within a couple of months, arguing private capital and industry players are willing to take a longer-term view than public markets, and that eventually things simply become too cheap, using the resulting 53.4 percent rally to trim its position. Perpetual Asset Management said the 53.4 percent quarterly return made oOh!media a top contributor, having watched the share price slide from $1.80 to $1.00 before making a high-conviction increase to its position on the belief the stock was significantly undervalued, a view it said the takeover interest has since validated.

The emergence of competing interest validates the strategic value of the company's outdoor media assets and market position.

— Lennox Capital Partners, Monthly Report, May 2026

What fund managers say they are watching next is whether the bidding war between Pacific Equity Partners and I Squared Capital escalates further, whether a deal completes at $1.45 a share or higher, and whether oOh!media's structural growth story in out-of-home advertising continues to attract industry consolidation interest even if this particular process does not conclude.