Searchlight Capital Partners and ForgeLight to Acquire Majority Stake in Univision

Univision Holdings, Inc., Searchlight Capital Partners, LP (“Searchlight”) and ForgeLight LLC (“ForgeLight”), an operating and investment company focused on the media and consumer technology sectors, announced a definitive agreement in which Searchlight and ForgeLight will acquire a majority ownership interest in Univision from all stockholders of Univision other than Grupo Televisa, S.A.B. (“Televisa”). Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Televisa has elected to retain its approximate 36 percent stake in Univision’s fully diluted equity capital on an as converted basis. Televisa’s Program License Agreement with Univision will remain in effect and will not expire unless Televisa voluntarily sells down a substantial portion of its ownership stake, at which point the agreement would remain in place for an additional 7.5 years. The agreement, which is one of Univision’s most strategic assets, provides the company exclusive access to the largest Spanish-language video library in the world.
 
Under the terms of the acquisition, Searchlight and ForgeLight will purchase the remaining 64 percent ownership interest from the other stockholders of Univision, led by an investor group including Madison Dearborn Partners, Providence Equity Partners, TPG, Thomas H. Lee Partners and Saban Capital Group (“the Sponsor Group”). Searchlight and ForgeLight will partner closely with Televisa and Wade Davis, founder of ForgeLight, who will become CEO of Univision upon close of the transaction. The transaction, which is subject to customary closing conditions including receipt of regulatory approvals, is expected to close later this year.