Mexico’s largest satellite-TV and cable operator Grupo Televisa is looking to raise Ps6bn (US$457m) through a new local bond offering.
Televisa is to sell senior unsecured notes due April 2021. Proceeds are to be used for general corporate…
Mexico’s largest satellite-TV and cable operator Grupo Televisa is looking to raise Ps6bn (US$457m) through a new local bond offering.
Televisa is to sell senior unsecured notes due April 2021. Proceeds are to be used for general corporate purposes.
Moody’s, which assigned a Baa1 rating to the proposed notes, said that on completion of the proposed transaction Televisa’s leverage will remain close to its current level of 2.2 times adjusted debt/EBITDA.
Televisa has a total debt of about US$5bn, approximately US$700m of which will mature in the next two years. As of 31 December 2013, the company’s cash balance totalled roughly US$1.6bn, enough to cover close to 32% of its total debt.
Last month, Mexico’s newly formed telecoms and media watchdog, Instituto Federal de Telecomunicaciones (IFT), notified Televisa that it would face a number of restrictive measures in order to increase competition in the country’s broadcast market.
Televisa has a 57% share of the Mexican pay-TV market and the IFT has stipulated that it must share its broadcasting infrastructure with third-parties in an attempt to enable new broadcasters to enter the sector. Televisa is also banned from having a stake in a dominant local telco and cannot buy certain exclusive content.
In addition, Televisa may not be allowed to participate in the auction process of two licences for over-the-air TV channels until it shows it is complying with the regulations for a period of 24 months.
However, Moody’s argued that it does not expect this regulation to adversely affect the company, pointing out that pay-TV penetration in Mexico is still less than 50%.
