Quebecor buys NEO's ad network, scaling to 17,000 display faces
What's the deal? QuebecorDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, one of Canada's largest media groups, acquired the out-of-home advertising operations of the NEODealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → network on October 2, 2024. Terms were not disclosed. The deal gives Quebecor more than 17,000 advertising faces across the country, combining its existing network with the acquired operations.
What does NEO do? NEO ran a digital out-of-home advertising network spanning shopping malls, gas stations, gyms, and mobile solutions. By early 2023, it operated 3,750 display locations.
How it got here: Part of NEO's growth traces back to Pompe Media, a startup founded by Montreal entrepreneur Ismael Alaoui. Its model was simple: run ads on screens mounted directly on fuel pumps, turning the few minutes it takes to fill up into advertising time. The company also installed screens in dépanneurs, Canada's small convenience stores.
Why now? In December 2019, Média Groupe, owner of the NEO network, took a 50% stake in Pompe Media. At the time, the startup had about 100 screens at 12 Quebec gas stations and roughly 50 dépanneurs. The partnership funded expansion.
The network grew to more than 100 gas stations and nearly 200 dépanneurs in Quebec, then began rolling out in Ontario. "I want to continue this growth across the rest of the country," Alaoui said, aiming to scale from a provincial footprint to nationwide coverage. In January 2023, he became vice-president of sales for Quebec at NEO while remaining president of Pompe Media.
What they said: At the time of the sale, Ronald Tapiero, then NEO's president and Alaoui's partner in Pompe Media, praised Alaoui's role in developing the gas-station screen business and thanked the entrepreneurs who helped launch the network in Canada.
Since the deal, Alaoui has worked as a business consultant through Groupe Conseil IA, focused on business development, technology, and commercial ties between Canada and Morocco.
The signal: The acquisition consolidates Canada's out-of-home advertising market under a single media player. For Quebecor, folding smaller specialised networks like Pompe Media into one operation of 17,000 faces signals a push to offer advertisers national reach in a sector long fragmented by local operators.
Read more: en.bladi.net
Image credit: Generated with Gemini
