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Venevisi&oacuten Joins Group Pursuing Univision

Jun 15, 2006  •  Post A Comment

The Cisneros Group’s Venevisi&oacuten Investments has joined a group that’s exploring a bid for Univision Communications Inc., the biggest U.S. Spanish-language broadcaster.

Venevisi&oacuten, controlled by Venezuelan investor Gustavo Cisneros, joins Mexican broadcaster Grupo Televisa and five private-equity firms including Bill Gates’ Cascade Investment, Bain Capital Partners, Blackstone Management Associates, Carlyle Investment Management and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts.

Venevisi&oacuten’s entry may bolster the group’s bid for Univision by bringing one of Univision’s biggest shareholders and suppliers of programming into the fold.

It also creates new competition for another group considering a purchase of Univision. Media mogul Haim Saban has joined forces with a private-equity consortium made up of Texas Pacific Group, Madison Dearborn Partners, Providence Equity Partners and Thomas H. Lee Partners.