Continental Outdoor Media, founded more than 50 years ago and a pioneer in Outdoor Advertising in Africa, was acquired on 18 June 2015 by JCDecaux SA in partnership with empowerment partner and long-term investor Royal Bafokeng Holdings (RBH) with a shareholding split of 70/30.
The company has now completed its integration process, and having finalised all statutory requirements, will officially be known as JCDecaux in each of the countries it operates within.
The new platform in sub-Saharan Africa, with more than 37,000 advertising panels and a presence in 14 countries (Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe), on top of JCDecaux’s existing footprint in Cameroon and Algeria, is the number one outdoor advertising company in Africa.
JCDecaux operates a wide range of analogue and digital advertising displays on highways and road arterials in metropolitan and rural areas, as well as in airports, shopping malls, the Gautrain Stations, taxi ranks and railway stations across sub-Saharan Africa, ensuring optimal visibility for advertisers and their brands.
Jean-Sébastien Decaux, CEO Southern Europe, Belgium and Luxembourg, Africa and Israel of JCDecaux, said: “Since the acquisition of Continental Outdoor in June 2015 we have made significant strides in integrating the JCDecaux culture, values and know-how. We will accelerate the growth and build on the solid foundations that Continental Outdoor Media created in Africa and look forward to an exciting period as we grow our business with our new colleagues.
“We are therefore very pleased and humbled to bring new expertise and innovation to service public authorities and African citizens as well as offer African and international advertisers and their brands exceptional opportunities on this continent with unequalled growth potential.
“Indeed, Africa’s population is expected to double in the next 30 years, fuelling the high urbanisation growth rate and consistent growth of the middle class. We’re looking forward to tackling this change of paradigm in Africa in the long term,” commented Decaux.
Bazil Lauryssen, CEO sub-Saharan Africa of JCDecaux, said: “Africa has taken its place within the world as a driver of innovation and will leap-frog many other emerging markets with digital and dynamic out of home displays providing state of the art media opportunities for our clients. The global support and sharing of ideas and strategies from the JCDecaux business around the world will benefit our growth and assist us to transform the outdoor advertising landscape within Africa and take it forward.
“The re-branding of all statutory documentation, products and other signage has commenced across the continent and we anticipate that by the end of 2016 the JCDecaux brand will be highly prominent across the African land and city-scape,” added Lauryssen.
