I agree, not a pretty picture. However, I think that the Cisneros Group is the driving factor in this deal. I think that they are doing it for two reasons. It protects what is left of their investment in El Sito and it gives Ibero-American a back door public offering and access (at some future point) to the public capital markets. Ibero-American appears to have some substantial assets.
cisneros.com
In 1997, the Cisneros Group partnered with Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst to create
Ibero-American Media Partners (IAMP), a $500 million fund that invests in media
properties in Latin America, Spain and Portugal. IAMP assets include the Cisneros
Television Group (CTG), which provides 14 channels to approximately 6 million pay
television households through over 1,000 cable system operators. El Sitio, another IAMP
investment, is one of the leading Internet portals in Latin America. CTG Music offers a
unique, fully integrated music package that includes MuchMusic Iberoamerica, HTV, AEI
Music Latin America and ARTISTdirect Latin America. CTG also founded and operates
Cl@se, a leading educational channel in Latin America.
In Chile, IAMP owns Chilevision, the Chilean national broadcast television network, and
Ibero American Radio Chile (IARC), which operates 8 leading radio stations, comprising
52% of the market. Furthermore, IAMP has interests in Caracol Television, one of two
private national broadcast networks in Colombia, and the Caribbean Communications
Network (CCN), the largest media group in the Caribbean. |
