Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CCO) is to exit the UK as the billboard operator comes under pressure from an activist investor to break up its business. The outdoor advertising company is preparing to sell its British operations and is working with bankers at Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) to sound out potential buyers. It comes as Clear Channel, owned by US-based iHeartMedia, Inc. (NasdaqGS:IHRT), faces calls from activist investor Legion Partners Asset Management, LLC to accelerate the sale of assets outside America.

In a letter to the board in May, Legion raised concerns with the "pace and scope" of the company's strategic review. It urged bosses to speed up the sale of assets in Europe and even consider a sale of the entire group. Clear Channel offloaded its operations in Spain, Italy and Switzerland earlier in the year 2023 and is closing in on a deal to sell its French business.

Sources said its UK business, which operates more than 33,000 advertising sites on high streets, in shopping malls and by roadsides, is next. However, it is not yet clear if this will be carved out individually or packaged with other assets in countries such as Denmark and Sweden. Clear Channel declined to comment.

The latest attempt at a sale could attract interest from other industry players such as Global, JCDECAUX and Ocean Outdoor, which operates Piccadilly Lights. But industry executives cautioned that any transaction with a rival would likely raise competition concerns.