News Corp seeks funds for Russian outdoor acquisitions

by Sam Matthews, Brand Republic 09-May-05, 12:00

LONDON – News Corporation is looking to extend its outdoor advertising business in Russia and is seeking £53m from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development to fund acquisitions.

News Corp chairman and chief executive Rupert Murdoch is looking to expand its Russia News Outdoor advertising business after ruling out potential loss-making deals in the broadcasting and publishing sectors in eastern Europe.

According to a report in the Financial Times today, News Corp has approached development bank EBRD, which funds development across Eastern Europe and Russia, and is now looking at gaining £53m to fund an acquisition spree for its outdoor business.

News Corp, which moved into the Russian ad market four years ago, is looking to take on outdoor rivals Viacom, JCDecaux and Clear Channel in the west by growing its eastern European business.

Russia News Outdoor, which is headquartered in Moscow, is currently the largest outdoor ad business in Russia. As well as operating in the former USSR, News Outdoor has offices in the Czech Republic, Hungary and Romania.

The news comes as News Corp posted its third-quarter results last week, which saw an 8% fall in profits after high network TV costs and the soft US ad market ate into profits at its film and cable divisions.

News Corp said net income for the third quarter was $400m (£210m) compared with $434m ain the same period the previous year.

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