Shanghai Daily: Business - shanghaidaily.com
CHINESE advertising firm Focus Media will acquire 100 percent of rival CGEN Digital Media Co Ltd, which is planning to list shares on Nasdaq. The deal will allow Focus to dominate China's in-store television advertising market and turn around declining sales in its network. Focus, China's largest overseas-listed advertising firm, will pay US$168.4 million in cash for CGEN Digital. Both firms are based in Shanghai. The deal, announced late on Monday night, will give the company stronger bargaining power to scale back discounts, industry observers said yesterday. An additional payment of up to US$181.6 million, part in cash and part in Focus's shares, will be offered if CGEN meets certain earnings targets during the next 24 months after the transaction, which is expected to close in the first quarter next year. It is the third time that Focus, which runs TV ad screens in office buildings, cinemas and residential complexes, has acquired rivals or entered a new business just