Clear Channel to contest loss of Paris ad, bike-rental contract to JCDecaux

Clear Channel to contest loss of Paris ad, bike-rental contract to JCDecaux

	Published : Wed, 31 Jan 2007 13:21 By : Agencies Print this Story

PARIS (AFX) - Clear Channel said it was 'amazed' by the decision of the city of Paris to grant a 10-year outdoor advertising and bicycle rental network contract to JCDecaux, and plans to examine the conditions of the contract's attribution.

On Monday, the public tenders commission of the city of Paris awarded the contract to Somupi, a joint venture owned 67 pct by JCDecaux and 33 pct by Publicis. Somupi had held the advertising contract since 1976.

But JCDecaux only won the contract after filing a complaint with the Administrative Court of Paris in October, claiming the procedure for attributing the tender was 'legally fragile'.

Several French press reports, including a two-page feature in Liberation newspaper today, claim that Clear Channel was nearly certain of winning the contract in October, since it was offering more, and technically superior bikes for the free-to-hire network.

By contesting the legality of the tender, however, JCDecaux may have become aware of the details of the Clear Channel offer, allowing it to improve the terms of its own proposal.

'Clear Channel France is amazed that there could be such a reversal of the situation in such a short time,' the company said today.

JCDecaux won the contract after promising to pay the city of Paris 3.5 mln eur each year for the rights to manage the advertising on bus shelters and other outdoor supports, while supplying 20,600 bikes and 1,451 rental stations by the end of 2007.

Clear Channel, in partnership with France Telecom, EDF and Vinci, offered 3 mln eur per year, and 14,030 bikes with 1,000 stations, the city's public tenders commission said.

JCDecaux also said it would have 14,100 bikes and 1,000 rental stations available for rental by mid-July, a promise that Clear Channel claims is not feasible for either candidate because of technical restrictions.

The stations need to be connected to the city's electricity network, but the network operator has told both the city and the two candidates that only 270 stations can be connected by July 15.

'Clear Channel has therefore decided to closely study the conditions for the attribution of this contract,' it said.

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