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RSSAssociated Press
By ALEX VEIGA AP Business Writer
LOS ANGELES--Univision Communications Inc. opened the door to potential buyers this week, but so far the company has drawn one bid it deemed too low while a last-minute shakeup within a second investor group has clouded prospects for another offer.
A consortium of private investors made a $10.7 billion (8.5 billion) offer to acquire the Spanish-language broadcaster on Wednesday, but Univision told the group it needed to increase its offer, someone familiar with the bid said Thursday, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the confidential nature of the negotiations.
The group's offer _ which was slightly more than $35 (27.82) per share and below the $40 (31.79) per share the company has reportedly been seeking _ remained on the table Thursday, the person said.
The consortium is made up of private equity firms Madison Dearborn Partners LLC, Thomas H. Lee Partners LP, Providence Equity Partners Inc., Texas Pacific Group Inc. and media mogul Haim Saban.
Wall Street analysts have estimated the company could fetch between $11 billion (8.74 billion) and $12 billion (9.54 billion).
But company shares fell another 3 percent Thursday as investors seemed to consider a more lucrative outcome less likely. After a more than 4 percent drop on Wednesday, shares of Los Angeles-based Univision slid another $1.04, or 3.1 percent, to close at $32.80 Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange.
Billionaire A. Jerrold Perenchio, Univision's chairman and chief executive, controls 10.8 percent of the company's Class A common stock, assuming his warrants are exercised, according to documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission earlier this year.
At $35 per share, Perenchio's more than 37.1 million shares would be worth roughly $1.3 billion (1.03 billion).
Also Thursday, a second investor group was still trying to put together an offer after losing three of its private equity firms, but expected to have its bid ready as early as the end of the day, the person said.
Private equity firms Blackstone Management Associates V LLC; Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. LP & Co., and Carlyle Investment Management LLC, dropped out of the group this week, reportedly over concerns about bidding too high.
The remaining investors in that group are Mexican media giant Grupo Televisa SA and Venezuelan broadcaster Venevision _ two of Univision's largest shareholders and programming suppliers _ and two private equity firms: Bain Capital Partners LLC and Cascade Investment LLC, which invests for billionaire Bill Gates.
On Thursday, Televisa said it remained confident it would proffer the most attractive bid.
The loss of three of its private equity partners could lower the odds of the Televisa-led group making a substantially higher bid than its rival, suggested analyst James G. Dix of Deutsche Bank in a research note Thursday.
Dix added that a Televisa offer in the $38 per share range was now less likely.
The conglomerate operates three television networks _ Univision, TeleFutura and Galavision _ more than two dozen television stations, a recorded music division, an Internet portal and Spanish-language radio stations.
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On the Net:
Univision Communications: http://www.univision.com
