About a year after scrapping plans for an initial public offering and hiring a new CEO, Spanish-language broadcaster Univision said it has hired investment bankers Morgan Stanley, Moelis & Co. and LionTree to advise it in determining its strategic options, including a possible sale.

“After a successful year under the leadership of our new management team, including a complete refocus on our core Spanish-language media business, it is abundantly clear that Univision’s strategic value has never been greater,” Univision’s board said in a press release, adding that it wants to capitalize on its leadership position in the growing Hispanic media market. “As the last major independent broadcast media company in the U.S., a market where scale and strength matter, Univision has the fundamentals for continued growth on its own or with a partner – and after careful consideration, the Board and management team have concluded the time is right to explore strategic options.”

The decision comes about a year after the broadcaster hired former Media General CEO Vincent Sadusky to run the operation after CEO Randy Falco resigned. Falco’s departure was one of a series of changes at the company that began in March 2018, when it decided to abandon a plan for an IPO and chief financial officer Francisco Lopez-Balboa stepped down.  In subsequent months, several top executives, including former chief revenue officer Tonia O’Connor and chief content officer Isaac Lee, left the company for other opportunities. Univision shed some assets -- it sold its online unit Gizmodo Group to Great Hill Partners in April  -- and endured some layoffs last July. 

Sadusky was hired in June 2018 and immediately set out to beef up the management team and refocus the broadcaster by investing heavily in news and sports programming. Now, a year in Sadusky’s plan seems to be paying off -- Univision says it is often the top rated news program in any language in several of its markets -- the time may be right to test the sale waters again.

“Over the past year, Univision has gained momentum as it has divested non-core assets; strengthened programming; secured long-term distribution deals and valuable sports rights; increased investment in news, sports, local, and digital offerings; and materially strengthened its balance sheet,” Sadusky said in a statement. “The current environment favors scale and cross-platform offerings, and we believe those major media companies that fail to recognize and capitalize on this unique opportunity in Spanish-language media will be left behind.”

Univision was taken private by a group of investors including Saban Capital Group, Madison Dearborn Partners, Providence Equity Partners, TPG and Thomas H. Lee Partners in a leveraged buyout worth about $13.7 billion in 2006. It reportedly turned down an offer in 2017 from Liberty Media’s John Malone that would have valued the company at $13.5-to-$15 billion. The IPO was expected to raise about $1 billion but would have valued the company at about $20 billion.

In a press release, Univision said there are no assurances as to the timing or outcome of the review and that it does not intend to comment until the review is complete. 

A day after it said it would withdraw its plans for an initial public offering, Univision Communications could be in line for even more changes. The company confirmed late Wednesday (March 7) that long-time CEO Randy Falco has approached the board about retiring early – at the end of this year – amid reports that the Spanish-language content giant is mulling a restructuring that would drastically reduce costs.

Univision withdrew its IPO documents Tuesday (March 6), ending a three-year odyssey for the programmer. Univision set the IPO engine in motion in 2015, and even brought in former Goldman Sachs banker Francisco Lopez-Balboa as chief financial officer to head up the effort. Lopez-Balboa resigned on Tuesday. He was replaced by long-time Univision executive Peter Lori.

Falco was said to be on increasingly thin ice in the wake of the IPO withdrawal – it was seen as the main exit vehicle for the investors that took the company private in 2007 for $13.7 billion, including Providence Equity Partners, media mogul and Univision chairman Haim Saban, TPG Capital and Thomas H. Lee Partners.

In a statement, Saban confirmed that Falco had approached the board earlier about accelerating his retirement, and that the board “reluctantly agreed” to his request.

“There are multiple rumors out there and on behalf of the Univision Board I would like to set the record straight about our CEO Randy Falco,” Saban said in a statement. “Recently Randy came to us and told us that he would like to retire at the end of 2018 when he will turn 65 years old and end an outstanding 8 year tenure as the CEO of Univision.  Let me be clear we at the Board of Univision have reluctantly agreed to Randy’s wishes out of respect and the high regard we have for him as a partner.  During his time as CEO he has modernized the Univision organization, grown earnings and reduced debt at record levels and we could not be more pleased with his performance. We have asked Randy to work with us over the next year in restructuring the company and consult with the board on a transition to new leadership.”

A report in the Wall Street Journal late Wednesday said the board of directors was considering replacing Falco. The report added that the Univision board also is contemplating making drastic cost cuts – up to $200 million – which could result in significant layoffs, to prepare itself for a sale. Univision had fielded several offers in the past – including one from Liberty Media chairman John Malone – but rejected them as too low.

Univision has struggled to pull the trigger on the IPO – it has postponed the offering several times due to unfavorable market conditions. The decision to finally scrap the offering could mean that it is willing to pursue a deal.