• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, March 3, 2008

Out-of-home advertising may be getting a long-overdue visit from the consolidation fairy. Last week, Lamar Advertising announced a $100 million deal to buy Vista Media, the outdoor division of Entravision Communications, in one of the industry's bigger acquisitions of recent years.

Altogether, the acquisition will bring 10,600 installations into Lamar's network, adding to its current total of approximately 150,000 billboards in 44 states. Most are billboards and poster spots in New York and Los Angeles. Entravision said proceeds from the sale will allow it to focus more closely on its radio business in booming Hispanic markets.

The acquisition of Vista may signal the beginning of a new shakeout in outdoor advertising, which has already seen a lot of consolidation over the last decade. Between 1996 and 2004, Lamar alone spent $5 billion acquiring smaller competitors, putting its finances in the red until the last year of that period.

However, industry observers have been forecasting a renewed wave of mergers and acquisitions, both in the United States and abroad. The tortuous sale of Clear Channel Communications to private equity firms --still awaiting approval from the Department of Justice--has investors speculating about a possible spinoff of Clear Channel Outdoor. Last year, competitors including J.C. Decaux expressed an interest in Clear Channel's international assets, including roadside displays in Britain.

Other outdoor players have made acquisitions in the U.S. and Europe, including Titan Worldwide's 2006 purchase of Maiden in Britain.