Saban swallows US broadcaster in billion-euro deal
A group of investors led by media mogul and ProSiebenSat.1 majority shareholder Haim Saban is acquiring Univision, the largest Spanish-language television network in the U.S., for just over 12 billion dollars.
An investor group led by media mogul and ProSiebenSat.1 majority shareholder Haim Saban is acquiring the largest Spanish-language US television channel Univision for a good 12 billion dollars. Including the acquired debt of 1.4 billion dollars, the deal is worth 13.7 billion dollars, according to Univision. The buyer group consisting of Saban Capital Group, Madison Dearborn Partners, Providence Equity Partners, Texas Pacific Group and Thomas H. Lee Partners are paying 36.25 dollars per share in cash for the company. Univision has become one of the largest US television broadcasters with popular telenovelas and broadcasts such as the soccer World Cup in Germany. It also operates the largest group of Spanish-language radio stations in the USA. The station's board of directors has already approved the purchase, which is expected to be completed in spring 2007, explained Univision. Now the shareholders and the supervisory authorities still have to give the go-ahead.
