Magic Media News
October 2009
ACON Investments, LLC (ACON) announced today that it has successfully completed the acquisition of Fairway Outdoor (Fairway) from a subsidiary of Morris Communications Company, LLC (Morris). Fairway will be combined with Magic Media (Magic), ACON`s existing outdoor advertising company, to form Fairway Magic Outdoor, LLC (FMO). Terms were not disclosed.
At closing FMO is one of the largest privately owned outdoor advertising companies in the United States with over 19,500 billboard and poster displays located in 22 states. ACON will be the control shareholder in FMO, however Morris will continue to retain an important minority stake. FMO will be led by Mark Moyer, the current CEO of Fairway Outdoor, who has held this position since 2000. Mr. Moyer is also the Chairman (Ex Officio) of the Outdoor Advertising Association of America and is a Director of the Traffic Audit Bureau of America.
Commenting on the transaction, Mr. William S. Morris III, Chairman of Morris, said, "While the sale was consummated in conjunction with the financial restructuring of our newspapers, we are excited about partnering with ACON to more fully exploit the growth opportunities available in the outdoor advertising industry."
"We believe this transaction will be a critical growth outlet for both Magic and Fairway," said Ken Brotman, a Founding Partner of ACON. "The combined company will have the increased scale and balance sheet strength needed to prosper in the current macro-economic climate, but more importantly, it will be able to continue providing customers with a cost-effective advertising medium for them to bolster and improve their bottom line as the economy turns."
"New advances in technology, which include digital technology and audited traffic counts, have made this an opportune time to invest in the outdoor advertising space," said Mr. Moyer, the CEO of FMO. "Building on the success that both Fairway and Magic have achieved to date, we believe that we are well positioned to capitalize on these and other future growth opportunities."
RBC Daniels served as an advisor to Morris. ACON funded the equity from its US middle market-focused ACON-Bastion Partners II and ACON Investment Partners investment fund vehicles.
The acquisition was completed in connection with the broader financial restructuring of the Morris Publishing Group, LLC (Morris Publishing), the newspaper publishing affiliate of Morris. On September 25, 2009, Morris Publishing announced that it had reached an agreement with certain holders of its 7% Senior Subordinated Notes due 2013 (the Existing Notes) on the terms of a restructuring of the indebtedness of Morris Publishing. In connection with the restructuring, an affiliate of ACON and affiliates of Morris Publishing have acquired a portion of the Senior Secured Loan. ACON`s portion of the Senior Secured Loan will remain senior to the Existing Notes and, upon consummation of the restructuring of the Existing Notes, Morris Publishing affiliates have agreed to cancel certain indebtedness.
ACON Investments
ACON Investments is a Washington, D.C.-based private equity investment firm that manages private equity funds and special purpose partnerships in the United States and Latin America. Founded in 1996, ACON and its principals have managed over $1.5 billion of capital. ACON pursues a theme-based investment strategy by focusing on industries and businesses at key inflection points in their development and pursues these opportunities in close partnership with established management teams. ACON has offices in Washington, Los Angeles, Houston, Madrid, Mexico City and Sao Paulo. For more information, visit www.aconinvestments.com.
June 2008
Magic Media Joins Outdoor Advertising AMBER Alert Initiative to Assist in Search for Missing Children: On June 3rd Magic Media tested a new initiative to distribute AMBER AlertsTM on its digital billboards as part of an effort from the Outdoor Advertising Association of America (OAAA) to aid in the recovery of abducted children. OAAA is partnering with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) as a secondary AMBER Alert distributor. The Alerts will be displayed on digital billboards in North Central, Midwest and Southeast divisions. The new initiative enhances the overall goal of the AMBER Alert program – to notify as many people as possible about a recent child abduction, and to provide information which can help in the search for the abducted child, suspected abductor, and/or suspected vehicle and in the safe return of the child. AMBER Alerts will be distributed to the more than 800 digital billboards nationwide, eight of which are Magic Media displays in the following locations: Rochester, MN; Valdosta, GA; Topeka, KS and Milledgeville, GA.
March 2008
Magic Media Southeast Division and the Valdosta Police Department have teamed up to fight crime by initiating AMBER Alerts on Magic Media’s two digital billboards in Valdosta, GA. The Valdosta Police Department will have full access to create and maintain these alerts under the direction of Commander Eugene Bell, Jr., of the Bureau of Investigative Services. The alerts range in scope from not only AMBER Alerts, but other crime alerts as well. The Valdosta Police Department can post pictures of wanted criminals in this area, as well as other information that can be useful to apprehend the criminals. For more information please click on attached file. SE Amber Alert PR
January 2008
Magic Media divested of its Indiana, Tennessee, Western Kentucky and Eastern Illinois assets to Dusty's Outdoor Media, LLC. of Effingham, Illinois. These displays were operated within the Mid-Atlantic division in Ivel, KY and Tennessee assets were operated within the Southeast division in Valdosta, GA.
October 2007
Congratulations to Matt Goodman, Southeast Division artist, for winning the RSA campaign contest! The Retirement System of Alabama is the preferred stockholder in Magic Media. The RSA contest took place in August and all Magic Media artists were asked to participate in designing new, fresh copy for all of their boards. After receiving over 12 great entries, Matt's design was chosen by RSA to replace the current copy on all boards throughout the company.
October 2007
Customers may now elect to receive monthly invoices via email. Customers should contact Accounts Receivable at the Magic Media Corporate Office.
September 2007
Lisa Bonno is taking on the position of Business Manager at our Mid-Atlantic Division in Ivel, KY. Nicole Collins will be resuming Lisa's responsibilities as Corporate Leasing Assistant.
August 2007
Magic Media launched a new and enhanced website. The new website is content rich with a clean and professional look.
July 2007
Magic Media divested of its New Mexico, Western Texas and Western Oklahoma assets to Look Outdoor Advertising. These displays were operated within the Southwest division in Dallas, Texas.
July 2007
Magic Media acquired the web domain www.magicmedia.com. Magic Media will also be undertaking some great transitions in the near future including converting the company emails.
July 2007
Magic Media divested of its North Carolina assets to Interstate Outdoor, Inc. of Selma, North Carolina. These displays were operated within the Southeast division in Valdosta, Georgia.
May 2007
Magic Media offers a new online account access service to its customers. This provides customers the convenience of printing copies of invoices, checking your account balance and account history. Accepted methods of account payment include Visa, Mastercard, Discover, American Express and eChecks.
May 2007
Magic Media acquired the bulletin assets of Nicol Outdoor Advertising LLC of Southeast Texas. Nicol will be operated within the Southwest division. The acquisition consisted of 250 outdoor advertising display faces.
April 2007
Magic Media acquired the painted bulletin assets of Unisign Outdoor Advertising of Ivel, Kentucky. Unisign will be operated within the Mid-Atlantic division. The acquisition consisted of 240 outdoor advertising display faces.
March 2007
Southeast division installed a LED changeable message display in downtown Valdosta. This is the fourth LED display in the company and the first in the Southeast division.
March 2007
Magic Media Southeast division moved from Tifton to a more centrally located area in Valdosta, Georgia. The new offices are located on River Street near the heart of Valdosta off of Interstate 75.
November 2006
Magic Media created its first LED changeable message display in Rochester, MN. Currently, the company plans to convert up to 50 LED changeable message displays within the next 24 months.
January 2006
Magic Media has acquired the painted bulletin assets of Masterpiece Outdoor Advertising of Kansas City, Missouri. The Masterpiece assets will be operated within the Midwest division.
November 2005
Southwest division moved from Baxter Springs, Kansas to Dallas, Texas. The division is now located on Plano Road, 15 miles outside of the busy downtown Dallas area.
May 2005
Magic Media has acquired the painted bulletin assets of Midtown Outdoor Advertising. The Midtown assets will be operated within the Magic Media Mid-Atlantic division.
April 2005
Magic Media acquired the assets of Waitt Outdoor Advertising of Dothan, Alabama; STG Outdoor Advertising of Huntsville, Alabama and Breakthrough Outdoor Advertising of Yulee, Florida. These painted bulletin displays will be integrated into the Southeast division coverage.
April 2005
As a result of Magic MediaŐs continued strategic planning, the existing Midwest division has been relocated to Kansas City, Missouri. The newly created Midwest division will include coverage in the major market of Kansas City as well as coverage in the states of Kansas, Missouri and Colorado.
The existing facility in Baxter Springs, Kansas will remain and be the location for the newly created Southwest division. The Southwest division will provide coverage in the states of Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas.
February 2005
Acquisitions and new display development are planned for the two newly created divisions.
Magic Media has divested its inventory of the bus bench advertising coverage. The proceeds from the asset sale will be reinvested in new, high traffic, high impact bulletins within the Atlanta, Georgia marketing region.
June 2004
Magic Media has acquired the assets of Signs of Success. These painted bulletin displays will be integrated and operated within the North Central division located in Rochester, Minnesota.