LDC buys Ocean Outdoor from Smedvig

The secondary buyout saw Smedvig reap nearly four times its original investment.

Investec Growth & Acquisition Finance provided a unitranche debt package to support the deal.

The deal will support the expansion of the firm's coverage in London and the UK's 10 largest cities. Ocean Outdoor will also look to improve the interactivity of its advertising.

Previous funding
Smedvig injected £5.5m into Ocean Outdoor in exchange for a majority stake in 2008. The transaction provided Ocean with working capital and funded the development of the company's pipeline of new sites.

John Hewett led the deal for Smedvig alongside Jordan Mayoo. Both parties joined Ocean's board as non-executive directors.

Company
Founded in 2004 and based in London, Ocean Outdoor operates outdoor digital advertising sites across the UK. Ocean operates 28 sites in the UK, including the digital site on the Hammersmith flyover and banner locations on the London IMAX.

Brands including Apple, Chanel and BMW have advertised using Ocean's digital advertising sites.

People
Daniel Sasaki is managing director of LDC London. Tom Goddard is chairman of Ocean Outdoor, with Tim Bleakley as CEO.

• Tweet  
• Facebook  
• LinkedIn  
• Google plus  
• Send to  

• Topics
• UK / Ireland
• Media
• Secondaries
• Now researching
• United Kingdom
• LDC
• Smedvig Capital