History
Founded in 1902, the company became independent under its current name in 1908 in Pensacola, Florida, when Charles W. Lamar, Sr. and J.M. Coe decided to dissolve their three-year partnership using a coin toss to divide their assets, the Pensacola Opera House and the Pensacola Advertising Company that was created to promote it. Lamar lost the toss and was left with the less-lucrative poster company, which he renamed the Lamar Outdoor Advertising Company.
Under the management of Lamar and his sons, the company grew rapidly over the next century. In 1996, Lamar made its first public offering of stock, which began trading on the NASDAQ exchange under the symbol LAMR. In 1999, after completing its $1.6 billion acquisition of Chancellor Media, Lamar became the nation's largest outdoor advertising company by number of displays. In 2005, Lamar generated revenues of more than $1 billion for the first time. It employs 3,300 workers in more than 150 offices in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico.
Current CEO Kevin Reilly, Jr. (the great-grandson of founder Charles Lamar, Sr.) was appointed to succeed his father, Kevin P. Reilly, Sr. Since that time, Lamar -- now based in Baton Rouge -- has diversified, expanding into interstate advertising and digital billboards. It also operates divisions focusing on attraction advertising for state tourism departments as well as large-format printing operations for private business.
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