By Amy-jo Crowley, Financial Mail On Sunday

Published: 16:50 EDT, 16 July 2022 | Updated: 08:15 EDT, 17 July 2022

The British and European arm of billboards giant Clear Channel Outdoor, whose customers include Asda and Sainsbury's, is about to be sold off, say City sources. 

A European private equity firm is said to be the only remaining bidder in talks following a formal sale process, run by investment banks Deutsche Bank and Moelis. 

A deal is expected in the next few weeks. 

Selling up: The move to offload its European arm comes as Clear Channel looks to refocus on its US market and reduce its debt

In the UK, Texas-based Clear Channel has 33,000 outdoor advertising sites.

The move to offload its European arm comes as Clear Channel looks to refocus on its US market and reduce its debt which stood at $5.6billion in March, with a market capitalisation of $485million. 

The sale process for the European division was launched in February. 

Buyout groups Apollo Global Management, Providence Equity and KKR are said to have expressed early interest. 

London-based Ocean Outdoor was acquired this year for £463million by Atairos. 

Clear Channel was contacted for comment. 

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