News: Australian billboard firms scrap $545 mln takeover on regulator worries

SYDNEY, May 19 (Reuters) - Australia's two biggest billboard companies on Friday called off a deal in which APN Outdoor Group Ltd (APO) would buy rival oOh!media Ltd (OML) for A$735 million ($544.93 million), after the antitrust regulator raised concerns.

The companies said in a statement that they disagreed with the view that a tie-up would harm competition but that regulatory invervention "represents an unacceptable risk to a successful merger".

($1 = 1.3488 Australian dollars)

Keyword OOH!MEDIA M&A/APN OUTDOOR GRP