Dallas – After a tumultuous auction, Spanish-language media giant Univision Communications Inc. said Tuesday it had signed a $13.7 billion deal to be bought by a consortium that includes Texas Pacific Group of Fort Worth and media mogul Haim Saban.
But the tougher challenge may be ahead of it.
Univision, based in Los Angeles, faces the same challenges as any other media company that must compete for advertising against tech-driven rivals in an ever-splintering media market.
Moreover, its business plan is largely based on audience growth from immigration and the idea that even acculturated, U.S.-born Hispanics continue to watch its telenovela and game- show fare.
With Mexican media giant Grupo Televisa SA and its consortium of investors on the losing side of the auction, change may take hold faster at Los Angeles-based Univision, Juan Faura, the Mexico City-born head of the Cultura marketing and advertising firm, theorized, referring to the strained relationship between the two Spanish-language media giants.
Televisa was thought to be the logical buyer. It already has an 11 percent stake in Univision, and the grandfather of current Televisa chief executive Emilio Azcarraga Jean helped found Univision’s predecessor network. Televisa also supplies about half of the programming now seen on Univision, a contract that lasts through 2017.
But Saban’s team outbid the Televisa consortium, offering to acquire Univision for $36.25 a share in cash and to assume $1.4 billion in debt. Still, the bid was below the $40 a share Univision had originally sought.
In Mexico City, Televisa issued a terse statement saying it was disappointed in the auction’s outcome: “Notwithstanding our repeated offers to discuss all aspects of our proposal including price, Univision and its advisers refused to enter into any discussions with us after we submitted our initial bid. Given this action by Univision’s board, Televisa has a number of alternatives it is considering.”
