Time Warner, Viacom Reported to Be Bidding for Argentine TV Broadcaster Telefe
September 28 2016 - 6:30PM
Dow Jones News
Time Warner Inc. and Viacom Inc. are among bidders circling
Telefó nica SA's Argentine television broadcaster Telefe for a
potential acquisition, people familiar with the discussions said.
The deal could allow one of the U.S. media companies to gain a
greater presence in Latin America.
A deal could be worth as much as $400 million, some of the
people said. Concrete offers are expected within the next several
days, and a final decision will be made by Telefó nica in October,
one of the people said.
The deal process has gone on for months, according to reports
from local press, such as Argentine newspaper Diario BAE. Time
Warner's Turner unit has been viewed as the front-runner, according
to those reports. Another company, media conglomerate Grupo
Cisneros, also is in the mix of bidders, one of the people
said.
For Time Warner, acquiring a Latin American broadcaster could
help beef up the company's bouquet of channels in the region. The
media giant already operates a number of channels in Latin America,
including CNN International, Cartoon Network and TNT. HBO also has
an established division in the region.
It is an awkward time for Viacom to be considering parting with
cash. The media company is dealing with a heavy debt load and
recently halved its dividend to help shore up its balance sheet.
The company's cable networks unit and Paramount Pictures studio
have struggled.
Still, Viacom executives believe that an acquisition of Telefe
could be financially beneficial because of the broadcaster's cash
flows, according to people familiar with the matter.
Meanwhile, Viacom is adjusting to a new board and management
changes that were the result of a power struggle with controlling
shareholder National Amusements Inc.
National Amusements is preparing to send a letter to the boards
of Viacom and CBS Corp. to ask them to explore a merger, people
familiar with the situation say.
Write to Shalini Ramachandran at shalini.ramachandran@wsj.com
and Keach Hagey at keach.hagey@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 28, 2016 18:15 ET (22:15 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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