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| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| Industry | Real estate investment trust,outdoor advertising |
| Founded | 1902; 124 years ago (1902) |
| Founder | Charles W. Lamar |
| Headquarters | Baton Rouge, Louisiana, U.S. |
Key people |
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| Products | Outdoor Advertising |
| Revenue | US$1.57 billion[1] |
Number of employees | 3,300[1] |
| Website | lamar |
Lamar Advertising Company is an advertising company which operatesbillboards, logo signs, and transit displays in the United States andCanada.[2] The company was founded in 1902 by Charles W. Lamar and J.M. Coe, and is headquartered inBaton Rouge,Louisiana.[3] The company has over 200 locations in the United States and Canada. They have reportedly more than 363,000 displays across the USA.[4] Lamar Advertising Company became areal estate investment trust in 2014.[5][6]
Lamar Advertising Company was founded in 1902 by J.M. Coe and Charles W. Lamar. The Company became independent under its current name in 1908 inPensacola, Florida, when Charles W. Lamar Sr. and J.M. Coe decided to dissolve their three-year partnership using a coin toss to divide their assets. The Pensacola Opera House and the Pensacola Advertising Company that was created to be divided between the two men. Charles W. Lamar lost the toss and was left with the less-lucrative poster company, which he renamed the Lamar Outdoor Advertising Company.[7]
The Pensacola Opera House was destroyed during Hurricane Four of the1917 Atlantic hurricane season, with theSaenger Theatre later built on the site.[citation needed]
On August 2, 1996, following aninitial public offering (IPO), Lamar Advertising Company began trading on the NASDAQ with the ticker symbol LAMR.[8]
In October 2004, Lamar swapped assets in South Carolina and Georgia to Fairway Outdoor Advertising, in exchange for the Palm Springs, CA; Fayetteville, NC; Rocky Mount, NC; and New Bern, NC assets.[9] Later in November, Lamar acquired Obie Media Corporation of Eugene, Oregon, adding outdoor displays in Idaho, Oregon, and Washington; as well as handling transit advertising contracts in a few areas.[10]
In January 2016, Lamar purchased advertising rights in five major American markets from Clear Channel Outdoor for $458.5 million.[11]
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