Maiden Outdoor pulls out of CIE deal after failing to agree terms

Troubled outdoor media group Maiden Outdoor has withdrawn from a deal with CIE, the transport authority that runs Irish rail and bus services, after it was poised to win the â¬100m (&£68.6m) account.

Maiden was set to ink a five-year contract after winning a pitch against incumbent Viacom Outdoor and several other agencies (MW October 13). But managing director David Pugh says: “We withdrew from the business because we couldn’t agree contractual terms with CIE.”

The account has now been awarded to Titan Outdoor Ireland, which Maiden beat in the pitch process. Titan is run from the US by former TDI executives Bill Apfelbaum and Don Allman.

The lucrative CIE contract is worth around one-fifth of the entire outdoor market in Ireland. The business does not include bus shelter advertising, but encompasses media on the inside and outside of buses, plus adverts at railway stations, alongside platforms and on road-facing billboards on CIE-owned rail property.

Maiden Group has been put up for sale after racking up debts of up to &£40m. US media rival Viacom Outdoor is believed to be among a slew of suitors lining up bids for the company, which could fetch up to &£60m.