Jim Matalone went into out of home consulting and brokerage after selling Ashby St Outdoor in 2019. Billboard Insider talked with Jim this week about his consulting and out of home brokerage activities.
Mad Dog Consulting
After I sold my company, I tried to think about what to do next. I had a lot of experience that I thought could potentially help other operators. I’ve been surprised at the response. In the two years I’ve been doing this I’ve done a lot of different projects. A lot of independent operators may be well versed in one area of our business, usually in real estate but may have less experience in others. Sales is probably the area where I have assisted companies the most. I have been engaged to assist in the hiring process, customizing compensation plans, and also sales training. I do a 2-3 day seminar for sales forces tailored specifically to outdoor. Other areas I’ve worked on for clients include site evaluation for new builds, reviews of overall operations identifying areas for improvement. In addition, I’ve done a lot of market appraisals. My last transaction was representing Missouri Neon in the sale of their outdoor assets.
The Missouri Neon Transaction
I got to know the Boyce family through a number of preliminary conversations on their plant. I felt we built a good relationship and as a result, they felt I would be a trustworthy advisor in a possible sale. As is the case with a lot of independent operators, this was a major step for them and also the first time they have ever gone through this process. I’d like to think my experience on both the buy and sell side brought value to both the seller and the buyer. Based on the activity in our process I would say it appears to be a sellers’ market right now. We had active bidding from multiple potential buyers and a robust auction process. I believe it was a great transaction for Boyce family and Link.
How the Misourri Neon transaction fits buyer Link Media’s plant.
The Waitt acquisition a couple years ago gave them a huge Midwest presence so this falls in their footprint. It gives them a strong concentration in the southern part of the state.
The current out of home M&A market
It’s a good time to be operating. Numbers are strong and any pandemic drops appear to be in everyone’s rearview mirror. With that there seems to be a lot of demand for outdoor assets from both old and new acquirers. As I’m sure everyone has seen, there are a lot of transactions taking place which shows operators are realizing it’s a good time to be a seller.
What metric did buyers focus on when you sold Missouri Neon?
I presented the transaction as billboard cashflow and put all general and administrative overhead below BCF line. I computed billboard cashflow as revenue less lease costs, utilities, production costs, sales costs, and any related maintenance expenses. I didn’t calculate any replacement expenses for digital billboards but presented all relevant information on the age of the digital billboards. They were relatively new with an average age around 4 years.
You can contact Jim Matalone at jmatalone@maddogoutdoor.com, 941-350-6529.
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