Chinese investment fund remaining bidder in Mediapro hunt

Chinese investment fund Orient Hontai is the remaining bidder in the race to acquire Imagina, the parent company of Spanish agency Mediapro, according to the El Español news service.

The report said that the investment vehicle is in talks to acquire up to 76 per cent of the agency.

The website added that the offer could yet be rejected by various shareholders, but a decision on the deal is possible before the end of this month.

Jaume Roures and Tatxo Benet are keen to retain a combined 24-per-cent stake, to secure involvement in Mediapro beyond any deal.

Grupo Torreal, led by Juan Abello, and Gerard Romy, are among the figures likely to offload their stakes of 23 and 11 per cent respectively. Advertising giant WPP also has a 23-per-cent shareholding while Mexican media company Televisa holds the remaining 19-per-cent stake.

Orient Hontai is the remaining bidder after talks with Pamplona Capital fell through, the report said.

Mediapro, which has rights in Spain to sports properties such as the Uefa Champions League, said in April that it had experienced its “best ever year” in 2016 after launching three new sports channels – pay-television broadcaster beIN LaLiga, free-to-air channel Gol and Canal F1 in Latin America.