Out of home China screens business Focus Media is worth $3.7bn

There aren’t too many Western media companies that would fetch $3.7bn at the moment, unlike China’s Focus Media which operates advertising screens in offices and retailers in China and the region.

Focus, a listed company, has agreed a bid at that level from a number of US private equity companies including Carlyle, Fountainvest, China Everbright, and Citic Capital, as well as Focus boss and major shareholder Jason Jiang (left).

The bid, at $27.50 a share is a relatively modest 17 per cent premium on the closing share price so there may yet be a higher one. The deal will lumber Focus with around $1bn of debt, but that’s the private equity way.