Imagina, parent company of the Mediapro agency, and Orient Hontai Capital have formally sealed a deal through which the Chinese private equity firm will acquire a majority stake in the Spanish media group.
The deal was announced on Friday, having been reported by the Spanish media earlier in the week. Orient Hontai will acquire the shares of private equity firm Torreal (22.5 per cent), Mexican media group Televisa (19 per cent) and Mediavideo (12 per cent), reaching a total interest of 53.5 per cent. The transaction gives Imagina an enterprise value of €1.9bn ($2.3bn).
Imagina said its “solid situation” and growth potential had led to a dozen initial proposals being submitted by international investors. It added that the final choice of Orient Hontai will generate “clear synergies” and “converging interests”.
All remaining shareholders, British advertising and PR group WPP (22.5 per cent) and two of Imagina’s founding members, Tatxo Benet (12 per cent) and Jaume Roures (12 per cent), maintain their stake in Imagina.
The agreement, which is expected to close in the second quarter of 2018, includes the preservation of the existing shareholders’ agreement, by which the management of the group will not undergo any change and will remain in the hands of Roures and Benet.
In a joint statement, Roures and Benet said the deal grants Imagina “a significant boost to its competitive strength in its traditional markets of Spain and Europe” and confirms “the markets' confidence in its business model and its growth strategy”.
They added: “The agreement will provide the group with access to an emerging market like China and the advantage of accessing this market in association with such an important partner as Orient Hontai Capital.”
Mediapro has rights in Spain to football’s Uefa Champions League and also has international distribution rights for LaLiga, which operates the top division of football in the country.
Earlier this month, Lega Serie A, the organising body of the top division of Italian club football, accepted an offer for its domestic broadcast rights from Mediapro. The Lega accepted an offer from Mediapro worth €1,050,001,000 per season, exceeding the minimum revenue target of €1.05bn that had been set for the three seasons spanning 2018-19 to 2020-21.
Tony Ma, chief executive of Orient Hontai Capital, said: “This acquisition is a crucial step towards Orient Hontai Capital’s international expansion in Europe under the One Belt, One Road strategy. We strongly believe in the potential and prospects of Imagina and the new media technology industry as a whole.
“The acquisition of Imagina will not only enable us to introduce advanced audiovisual production technology to China, but also opens new perspectives for exchanges and cooperation among China, Spain and Latin-America in fields like content, culture, sports, etc. With strong support from both Orient Hontai Capital and the best-in-class management team of Imagina, we are excited to witness the synergies and potential in China as well as globally, to be realised in the near future.”