Agora may be out for Europlakat after moving into AMS

Six companies are vying for a controlling stake in outdoor advertising company Europlakat Polska, reportedly including publishing giant Agora, which is about to become an investor with the largest outdoor advertiser, AMS. Other possible candidates for Europlakat include Clear Channel Poland, which was planning to invest zl. 25 million this year, which could be too little to acquire Europlakat. Venture capital funds such as Enterprise Investors (EI), Innova Capital and AIG CE Capital Management are also said to be interested in Europlakat, but finalizing the deal could take a number of months. The key issue is the size of the stake in Europlakat which will be available. Deutsche Stadte Medien is putting up its 51% of shares for sale, but potential buyers, particularly the investment funds, are more likely to become involved if minority shareholder JC Decaux also decides to sell its stake. (Puls Biznesu, p.4) T.J.