FCC Permits Increased Foreign Investment In Univision - Quick Facts

By HMWorks Staff

The FCC gave Televisa, the Mexican media company, permission on Tuesday to increase its stake in Miami-based Univision.

Televisa owns 14.4 percent of the voting interest in Univision and 10 percent of the equity but needed the regulatory okay to increase its stake beyond the 25 percent limit that Uncle Sam places on foreign ownership of US media companies.

Televisa, controlled by Emilio Azcarraga Jean, one of the world’s richest men, supplies about 35 percent of Univision’s TV programming.

Azcarraga is worth $1.9 billion, according to Forbes.

The FCC, in a statement, said it allowed Televisa to increase its stake up to 49 percent.

Univision owns radio and TV stations and a major Spanish-language network of the same name. Univision news anchor Jorge Ramos made a name for himself after battling with then-candidate Donald Trump at a press conference after the Republican made negative comments about Mexican immigrants.

Univision is controlled by a group of US private-equity firms — Madison Dearborn owns 20.5 percent of voting interests and 18.9 percent of the equity, Providence Equity owns 19.5 percent of the voting shares and 19 percent of the equity; Thomas H. Lee owns no voting shares and 19 percent of the equity, and TPG Global owns 27.3 percent of the voting shares and 20.6 percent of the equity, according to the FCC filing.

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