Univision Deeply in Debt $10.6 Billion, Private Owners Looking to IPO for Public to Bail Out Company

03 Jul, 2015 by Samuel Gonzalez

Print this article Font size -16+

I smell a rat! Isn’t it interesting that Univision happens to be an unprofitable business it’s owners can’t find a buyer for. So what better way to try and sell a lemon in the midst of a big controversy? I wouldn’t buy stock in Univision because it’s not a profitable concern.

Wall StreetJournal reports for years, Univision’s owners—including billionaire Haim Saban, Madison Dearborn Partners, Providence Equity Partners, TPG Capital and Thomas H. Lee Partners—have been searching for an exit. The group took Univision private in early 2007 for $13.7 billion, saddling the company with debt just before the onset of the financial crisis.

Since then, Univision’s revenue has grown gradually, but it has swung in and out of profitability. The company barely broke even last year and reported $2.91 billion in revenue. Its total debt load was $10.66 billion, as of March 31.

The company had held preliminary sale talks with media companies such as CBS Corp. and Time Warner Inc. last year, The Wall Street Journal reported, but ultimately no deal was consummated.

New York-based Univision is set to aim for a stock market value of around $10 billion and an enterprise value of about $19 billion, and hopes to launch the offering shortly after Labor Day, according to a person familiar with the deal.

The IPO could be the biggest of the year in the U.S., raising well over $1 billion, which will be used to pay down some of the company’s debt load, the person added.

More here

From The Last Tradition