The owners of Univision Communications Inc., in their search for
an exit, have held preliminary discussions in recent weeks with
several media companies, including CBS Corp. and Time Warner Inc.,
according to people familiar with the matter.
Univision is controlled by a consortium of investors including
billionaire Haim Saban. The owners are seeking north of $20 billion
for the company, according to people familiar with the matter. The
group bought Univision for $13.7 billion, including debt, in early
2007. Mr. Saban didn't return a call seeking comment.
Univision has long been the dominant Spanish-language
broadcaster in the U.S. Even so, there is no sign any of the
preliminary discussions have led anywhere, however. Among other
issues, one person familiar with the situation said, was the
price.
The broadcaster's owners had been expected to take the company
public in a stock offering in 2015, paving the way for them to
exit, though those plans aren't set yet. The owners had also looked
to Mexican media conglomerate Grupo Televisa SAB, which owns a
minority stake of Univision and supplies much of its programming,
as a possible buyer.
But Televisa's ability to acquire Univision rests on changes in
regulatory rules capping foreign ownership in broadcasters at 25%.
While the Federal Communications Commission voted to allow
exemption to that cap on a case-by-case basis last fall, a person
familiar with the situation said the regulatory climate for a
Televisa acquisition remains uncertain. It is also unclear whether
Televisa is interested in buying the company.
The discussions come in the wake of two megamergers struck in
the pay-television industry that are sending tremors across the
media landscape.
Comcast Corp.'s proposed $45 billion purchase of Time Warner
Cable and AT&T Inc.'s $49 billion deal to buy DirecTV have left
entertainment executives wondering whether they also need to bulk
up to have leverage in negotiating against the soon-to-be
giants.
Univision Communications CEO Randy Falco has been among the most
outspoken raising concerns about the implications of the
Comcast-TWC deal. In an April earnings call, he noted Comcast,
whose NBCUniversal owns rival Spanish broadcaster Telemundo, is the
only major pay-TV operator that doesn't distribute Univision's
sports network, which is airing 24/7 World Cup programming
including the games.
"Either Comcast doesn't understand that soccer is a passion
point for Hispanics or they don't support competitors who have
competing services, " he said. Mr. Falco also noted that combined
with Time Warner Cable, Comcast would become the "top TV
distributor in 19 out of the top 20 Hispanic markets," which he
said gives the cable operator "staggering influence over Hispanic
consumers."
Comcast said at the time it delivers "more than 60 Latino
networks in both Spanish and English."
Propelled by the country's rapidly growing Hispanic population,
Univision's flagship network was the only one of the top five
networks to increase its prime time viewership in the 2012-13
season in the coveted 18-49 demographic.
Since the start of the 2013-14 season, things have been less
rosy, with Univision network's ratings in the 18-49 demographic
down 23%, according to Nielsen. A person familiar with the
situation said the ratings drop was due to two underperforming
shows.
Univision has been seeking to expand its offerings to attract
more advertising and subscription revenues from pay TV operators.
In the past two and a half years alone, it has launched nine cable
channels, bringing the total to 12. It has also launched new
digital offerings, including a dedicated online TV network called
"Flama."
Write to Shalini Ramachandran at shalini.ramachandran@wsj.com
and Keach Hagey at keach.hagey@wsj.com
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