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Description of Business and Basis of Presentation
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2014
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]  
Description of Business and Basis of Presentation
Description of Business and Basis of Presentation

Description of Business

CBS Outdoor Americas Inc. (the “Company”) and its subsidiaries (collectively, “we,” “us” or “our”) was formed as an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of CBS Corporation (“CBS”). We provide advertising space (“displays”) on out-of-home advertising structures and sites in the U.S., Canada and Latin America. Our portfolio includes billboard displays, which are predominantly located in densely populated major metropolitan areas and along high-traffic expressways and major commuting routes. We also have a number of exclusive multi-year contracts to operate advertising displays in municipal transit systems. We have displays in all of the 25 largest markets in the U.S. and over 180 markets across the U.S., Canada and Latin America. We manage our business through two segments - United States (“U.S.”) and International.

On April 2, 2014, we completed an initial public offering (the “IPO”) of 23,000,000 shares of our common stock, including 3,000,000 shares of our common stock sold pursuant to the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares. (See Note 2. Initial Public Offering.)

On April 16, 2014, CBS received a private letter ruling from the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) with respect to certain issues relevant to our ability to qualify as a real estate investment trust (“REIT”). On July 16, 2014, we ceased to be a member of the CBS consolidated tax group and on July 17, 2014, we began operating in a manner that will allow us to qualify as a REIT for U.S. federal income tax purposes for the tax year commencing July 17, 2014, and ending December 31, 2014.

On July 16, 2014, CBS completed a registered offer to exchange 97,000,000 shares of our common stock that were owned by CBS for outstanding shares of CBS Class B common stock (the “Exchange Offer”). In connection with the Exchange Offer, CBS disposed of all of its shares of our common stock and as of July 16, 2014, we were separated from CBS (the “Separation”) and were no longer a subsidiary of CBS.

On October 1, 2014, we completed our acquisition of certain outdoor advertising businesses (the “Acquired Business”) from Van Wagner Communications, LLC, now known as OA VW LLC (“Van Wagner”), for $690.0 million in cash, plus working capital adjustments (the “Acquisition”). The Acquisition was funded with the net proceeds from the issuance and sale of the New Senior Notes (as defined in Note 18. Subsequent Events) and cash on hand. In the three months and nine months ended September 30, 2014, we recorded $7.6 million of commitment and other fees in Interest expense in the Consolidated Statement of Operations associated with a lender commitment to provide a senior unsecured bridge term loan facility for the purpose of financing the Acquisition in the event we did not complete the offering of the New Senior Notes.

On October 20, 2014, we announced the re-branding of the Company to “OUTFRONT media.” Our common stock will begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “OUT,” and our legal name will change, effective November 20, 2014.

On October 29, 2014, we announced that our board of directors approved a quarterly dividend of $0.37 per share. The dividend is payable on December 15, 2014, to stockholders of record of our common stock on November 18, 2014.

On October 29, 2014, our board of directors approved a special dividend of approximately $547.7 million to our stockholders in connection with our conversion to a REIT. The special dividend is payable on December 31, 2014, to stockholders of record on November 20, 2014. The special dividend is the amount of our accumulated earnings and profits as of July 17, 2014, the date we began operating in a manner that will allow us to qualify as a REIT for U.S. federal income tax purposes (the “E&P Purge”). Stockholders will have the option to elect to receive their special dividend in all cash or all stock. However, the aggregate amount of cash to be distributed will be approximately $109.5 million. As stated in Note 2. Initial Public Offering, a portion ($100.0 million) of the IPO proceeds was retained by us and will be applied to the cash portion of the E&P Purge. CBS will transfer the balance of the cash portion of the E&P Purge (approximately $9.5 million) to us prior to the special dividend to stockholders.

Basis of Presentation and Use of Estimates

The accompanying unaudited consolidated financial statements have been prepared pursuant to the rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). In the opinion of our management, the accompanying unaudited financial statements reflect all adjustments, consisting of normal and recurring adjustments, necessary for a fair presentation of our financial position, results of operations and cash flows for the periods presented. Certain previously reported amounts have been reclassified to conform with the current presentation. These financial statements should be read in conjunction with the more detailed financial statements and notes thereto, included in our prospectus, filed with the SEC on July 7, 2014.

We have revised the previously reported condensed consolidated Statement of Cash Flows for the nine months ended September 30, 2013. In prior periods, non-cash purchases of property and equipment were previously included within capital expenditures. The revision increased Net cash used in investing activities and increased Net cash provided by operating activities by $13.8 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2013. We do not believe that these misclassifications were material to the previously reported interim or annual financial statements. The above adjustments had no effect on previously reported Statements of Operations, Statements of Financial Position or Statements of Invested Equity/Stockholders' Equity. The impacted prior periods will be revised as they are presented in future filings.

The preparation of our financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) requires management to make estimates, judgments and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, and the reported amount of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. We base our estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.

Our 2013 financial statements were presented on a “carve-out” basis from CBS’s consolidated financial statements based on the historical results of operations, cash flows, assets and liabilities attributable to its Outdoor Americas operating segment. Management believes that the assumptions and estimates used in the preparation of the underlying consolidated financial statements are reasonable. However, the consolidated financial statements herein do not necessarily reflect what our financial position, results of operations or cash flows would have been if we had been a stand-alone company during the periods presented. As a result, such historical financial information is not necessarily indicative of our future results of operations, financial position or cash flows.