Univision confirmed on Thursday that it is “reviewing strategic options” and has hired external consultants after The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that the company was weighing options, including a possible sale.
The process has just begun, one person told WSJ, who asked not to be identified because the deliberations are private.
The company, which is based in the United States, hired Morgan Stanley and investment bank LionTree to explore options, the paper said, citing people close to the matter.
The company has failed in its previous efforts to organize a sale and scrapped plans for an initial public offering in March 2018.
Univision had been purchased by a group of acquisitions firms, including Madison Dearborn Partners, Saban Capital, Providence Equity Partners, TPG Capital and Thomas H. Lee Partners for $ 12.3 billion in 2007.
The firm registered a Public Offering of shares (IPO) in 2015, but the appetite of investors for indebted companies such as Univision was reduced and the plans were filed.
Univision underwent a restructuring in which 200 employees were laid off, and the US publisher of Internet publications Gawker Media LLC for 135 million dollars.
The chain did not want to comment on the report. Morgan Stanley and LionTree did not respond immediately to a request from Reuters to discuss the matter .
The chain has had financial problems since an acquisition of a majority shareholding leveraged in 2007. The company reported that it ended 2018 with 7,400 million dollars in debt.
