Outdoor media firm plans nationwide push
Aladdin Media Holdings, one of the mainland's largest outdoor media firms specialising in public billboard advertisements, plans to raise up to US$150 million from an initial public offering on the Nasdaq later this year to fund expansion, according to the company's founder and chief executive, Melvin Chung.
AMH's proposed capital raising will follow a US$30 million private equity injection into the group completed last week by Credit Suisse Private Equity Asia, AIF Capital and OSK Ventures.
The Shanghai-based company is competing in the crowded outdoor advertising sector on the mainland.
Unlike its listed competitors, which generate rental income by reselling outdoor advertising space through short-term rental agreements on government-owned outdoor assets, Aladdin is licensed to construct and operate public service billboards.
It has now accumulated a portfolio of such outdoor assets in Shanghai, Shenzhen, Wuxi, Chongqing and Wuhan, and targets to extensively expand its network coverage. 'Our goal is to establish a nationwide platform covering over 30 cities in China, in which each city will have over 1,000 billboards,' Mr Chung said.