MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Grupo Televisa, Mexico’s largest broadcaster, will combine content with U.S. broadcaster Univision for the creation of a new Spanish-language media company, Televisa said on Tuesday.
The new company, called Televisa Univision, will feature content from both broadcasters, including series, movies, sports, telenovelas and archive content, Televisa said, adding that it will be the “largest Spanish-language media company in the world.”
The transaction was partially financed by a $1 billion Series C preferred investment led by the SoftBank Latin American Fund, with participation from ForgeLight, Google and The Raine Group, Televisa said in a press release.
Televisa would contribute its content assets for a total value of $4.8 billion, comprised of $3.0 billion in cash, $1.5 billion in Univision equity and $0.3 billion from other sources.
“This strategic combination generates significant value for shareholders of both companies and will allow us to more efficiently reach all Spanish language audiences with more of our programming,” said Emilio Azcarraga, executive chairman of the Televisa board of directors, in a prepared statement.
Televisa already distributes exclusive content to Univision, including its signature soap operas, known as ‘telenovelas’, for the broadcaster’s Spanish-speaking viewers in the United States.
Searchlight Capital Partners and ForgeLight completed a majority stake purchase of Univision at the end of last year. Televisa maintained its minority stake and its programming license agreement with the company.
(Reporting by Cassandra Garrison; Editing by Christian Plumb)
