Mexico’s Televisa Cleared to Up Univision Stake

NEW YORK: The Federal Communications Commission has given the Mexican media giant Televisa permission to increase its stake in the U.S. broadcaster Univision up to 49 percent.

Televisa currently supplies around 35 percent of Univision’s programming and owns 14.4 percent of the voting interest and 10 percent of the equity. The company needed clearance from the U.S. regulatory body, though, in order to increase its stake beyond the 25-percent limit currently imposed on foreign ownership of U.S. media companies. The FCC has now authorized Televisa to hold up to 40 percent of the voting interests and 49 percent of the equity interests of Univision.

Grupo Television and Univision Communications said in a joint statement: “The Commission concluded that permitting increased foreign investment in Univision would serve the public interest in diversity and competition in the media sector without any countervailing national security, law enforcement or trade policy concerns. The FCC’s decision will enable Univision to accommodate increased foreign investment that may result from share purchases by the public in an IPO while enabling Televisa (an existing investor in, and business partner of, Univision) to increase its current equity stake in the company.”