Hemisphere Media said it has purchased the remaining 75% interest in Spanish-language SVOD service Pantaya from Lionsgate for $124 million in cash. 

In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 1, Hemisphere said it funded the purchase through a combination of cash on hand and a $50 million incremental term loan under its existing credit facility. With the deal Hemisphere now owns 100% of Pantaya, up from its original 25% stake. 

Pantaya offers more than 400 movies and series and claims about 900,000 subscribers in the U.S. The service was launched in August 2017 and Hemisphere Media estimates it can grow its paying customers to 2.5 million to 3 million by the end of 2025. 

“In a very short period of time, Pantaya has become the destination for U.S. Hispanics seeking premium Spanish-language movies and series,” said Hemisphere CEO Alan Sokol in a press release. “... Pantaya’s success to date affirms the tremendous appetite of our audience for our unique content offering. Hemisphere plans to increase investment in content, expanding the output of series and movies, with the goal of accelerating subscriber growth and becoming a ‘must have’ entertainment option for the large and growing U.S. Hispanic audience.”

Pantaya CEO Paul Presburger added that the SVOD service’s attractive price point -- it costs about $5.99 per month -- a user-friendly interface and wide content selection has helped boost subscriber rolls by 40% in the past year. “...we believe we have significant runway for additional expansion ahead,” Presburger said in the release.

Pantaya said it also will create a strategic content relationship with Lionsgate and its international premium subscription service StarzPlay for Spanish-language movies and television series, and that Pantaya will continue to license Spanish-language content from Lionsgate’s 17,000-title film and television library. 

“We’re very proud to have helped build Pantaya into the leading premium Spanish-language platform in the U.S., and Hemisphere is the right owner to continue their growth and success,” said Lionsgate chief operating officer Brian Goldsmith said in a press release. “This agreement enables us to maintain a robust strategic content relationship among Lionsgate, StarzPlay and Pantaya that benefits Pantaya’s continued ascendancy.”

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. 

NBC Universo continues to be aggressive on the rights acquisition front, securing Spanish language rights to AMC’s zombie thriller The Walking Dead.

The Latino-targeted entertainment and sports channel will begin airing episodes of the popular drama beginning with seasons one through three dubbed in Spanish in early 2016, said network officials. In addition to airing on the network, The Walking Dead will also be available in Spanish on Video on Demand, as well as on nbcuniverso.com and the NBC Universo Now app by entering the subscriber’s log-in information.

"Very few series in television history have so thoroughly captivated young adult audiences like The Walking Dead. It has been a blockbuster mainstream hit, and there’s a tremendous appetite for Latinos to fully enjoy this series in Spanish for the very first time in the U.S.,” said Rubén Mendiola, President of NBC Universo in a statement. “Adding The Walking Dead to our primetime programming lineup is a clear demonstration of our commitment to bringing the most provocative and best-quality entertainment to U.S. Hispanics in Spanish.”

The Walking Dead joins other NBC Universo primetime series acqusitions including Prison Break, which will premieres tonight on the network, as well as South Park, which will debut on Oct. 26, according to network officials.