Accelerating its strategic expansion into payment-enabled media, VeriFone Holdings (NYSE: PAY), today announced that it has acquired the Clear Channel Taxi Media business from Clear Channel Outdoor.
The acquisition is not expected to be material to 2010 results. Financial terms were not disclosed.
VeriFone intends to leverage this well-developed channel into VeriFone's Media Solutions payment-enabled business, where in-taxi digital content is positioned to become one of the most innovative advertising venues as spending moves from traditional to online and digital place-based media.
"VeriFone is delivering Internet-enabled, multi-media technologies at the point-of-sale," said Douglas G. Bergeron, CEO of VeriFone. "As consumers shift to electronic transactions in taxicabs and other media-enabled locations, we have a unique ability to deliver dynamic and interactive campaigns with desirable and measurable advertising efficiencies. This is a very high value services opportunity."
The acquisition includes relationships with a nationwide network of taxi media buyers and more than 20 experienced media sales representatives. With the acquisition, VeriFone has added an additional 5,000 taxicab advertising endpoints to its existing New York City network of 6,500 cabs.
VeriFone's expanded media sales force can now sell advertising to local and national buyers with a reach of 90 percent of all New York taxi cabs. Presently, there are approximately 300,000 taxi fares a day in New York City.
VeriFone Media Solutions now has sales representatives in Boston, Chicago, Las Vegas, Miami, New Orleans, New York City and San Francisco.
Clear Channel Outdoor entered the taxi advertising business in 2000, with a significant percentage of the business centered on sales of taxi top advertising. In 2007, Clear Channel Outdoor entered the market for in-taxi digital place-based media.