Univision Sells Majority Stake

• Investment firms Searchlight Capital Partners, LP and ForgeLight LLC 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., which has elected to retain its approximate 36 percent stake in Univision’s fully diluted equity capital on an as converted basis. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

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”). Wade Davis (right), CEO & Founder of ForgeLight and former CFO of Viacom will become CEO of Univision upon close of the transaction, which is expected later this year.

Vince Sadusky (left), current CEO of Univision, said, “We are a re-energized and refocused company, and today marks the start of an exciting new chapter with partners that recognize the excellent position Univision is in. I want to thank our talented employees for their hard work and dedication — I’m so proud of everything we have accomplished that has led us to this great outcome. Both Searchlight and Wade are wholly supportive of Univision’s core mission to entertain, inform and empower Hispanic America and fully embrace the commitment and special bond we have with our audience. Our talented operating team has transformed Univision to be strategically, operationally and financially stronger than it has been in years.”

Davis remarked, “First, I would like to thank the Sponsor Group for their work to bring Univision to where it is today and for choosing us to take the company forward. I’m proud to partner with Searchlight and Televisa to lead Univision at such an exciting point in its history. Vince and the entire Univision team have done an outstanding job of refocusing the company over the past 18 months, which has further enhanced the company’s position as a market leader in Spanish-language media and created this incredible opportunity going forward.”