Lamar Advertising Company (NASDAQ:LAMR) ("Lamar" or the "Company"), a leading owner and operator of outdoor advertising assets, announced today that it has acquired the assets of AdSource Outdoor Advertising ("AdSource") in the second-ever UPREIT transaction in the billboard industry.

The acquisition, which closed on August 12, adds more than 230 billboard faces in Louisiana, including 30 digital displays, to Lamar’s portfolio. The pending acquisition was disclosed on the Company’s recent earnings call.

AdSource was launched in Lake Charles, LA, in 2003 by local entrepreneurs Paul Bonin, Keith Duplechin and Russell Tauzin, who later expanded the company’s footprint across Louisiana.

In this transaction, AdSource contributed its assets to Lamar Advertising Limited Partnership ("Lamar LP"), the operating partnership subsidiary of Lamar that holds the Company’s assets. In return, the owners of AdSource received common units of Lamar LP, with each common unit of Lamar LP designed to track the value of a share of Lamar’s Class A common stock. Holders of the Lamar LP common units receive cash distributions on each common unit in an amount equal to the per share dividend paid on Lamar’s common stock. Common units of Lamar LP are convertible into cash or shares of Class A common stock of Lamar.

The transaction was enabled by Lamar’s organization as an UPREIT, or Umbrella Partnership Real Estate Investment Trust. This structure allows Lamar to issue partnership units of Lamar LP to billboard owners on a tax-deferred basis in connection with acquisitions.