London digital advertising firm boosts European presence with Swedish acquisition

London advertising agency Ocean Outdoor has acquired a Sweden-based out-of-home media specialist as part of its European expansion.

The firm has acquired independent media and tech group Visual Art, which operates in three Nordic countries as well as Germany, in a €63m deal.

Ocean Outdoor specialises in out-of-home advertising, specifically digital screens in globally recognised locations.

The firm’s acquisition of Visual Art Media will extend its digital out-of-home (“DOOH”) presence into Northern Europe, adding Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Germany to the company’s existing DOOH portfolio in the UK and the Netherlands.

Ocean Outdoor CEO Tim Bleakley commented: “Visual Art Media is an attractive business that we have long admired. The company combines great people with great assets in growing DOOH markets, offering impressive opportunities across a number of different business areas and multiple countries.

“This acquisition creates an enhanced offering which benefits all stakeholders, landlords, municipalities and advertisers along with the media and specialist agencies.

“We look forward to working with the management teams at Visual Art to combine their expertise with the Ocean brand and our digital cities for digital citizens philosophy.”

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