Group Planning Bid for Univision

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A consortium of U.S. and Mexican investors may team to launch a bid for Spanish-language media giant Univision Communications Inc., according to reports on Thursday.


The group is said to include Mexican broadcaster Grupo Televisa SA, private equity firm Providence Equity, Cisneros Group and Los Angeles billionaire investor Haim Saban, according to reports by Reuters and CNBC, which cited sources familiar with the situation.


Cisneros Group controls Venezuela’s Venevision and holds about 13 percent of Univision; Televisa, which provides 30 percent of Univision’s content under a contract that runs until 2017, owns about 12 percent as well.


Due to foreign ownership rules, the group would need Saban, chief executive of ABC Family Worldwide Inc., along with Providence, and what could be one additional private equity firm, to purchase the public shares, CNBC said.


The process is still at an early stage with no guarantee it would result in a formal offer, Reuters said.


On Feb. 8 Univision announced it was considering putting itself on the market. The transaction is expected to be worth more than $10 billion. Televisa has said it is mulling a possible purchase of Univision, although on Feb. 24 said it wasn’t in talks with the company.

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