Southwind Media, the majority shareholder in Mediapro, is reported to be exploring a sale of its stake in the Spain-based sports rights and broadcast production group.
The Hong Kong-based investment company is working with advisers to gauge takeover interest, two sources “familiar with the matter” told Reuters.
Southwind increased its shareholding from 53 per cent to 80 per cent after fully subscribing to a €620m ($659m) capital increase in the middle of last year as Mediapro restructured its debt. Southwind is the owner of the China-based Orient Hontai Capital conglomerate.
Deliberations are said to be at an early stage with no certainty that a sale will take place. Contacted by SportBusiness, Mediapro declined to comment.
In June 2018, Orient Hontai concluded its initial deal to acquire a majority stake in Spanish media group Imagina, parent company of Mediapro. The deal was first announced four months earlier, with Orient Hontai agreeing to 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 gave Imagina an enterprise value of €1.9bn at the time.
The remaining shares in Mediapro are split between British advertising and PR group WPP and two of Imagina’s founding members, Tatxo Benet and Jaume Roures.