Univision Sells Majority Stake
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.
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.”