• Ad Age, Tuesday, June 20, 2006 11:30 AM

With bids for Spanish-language media company Univision due today, a group led by Mexico's Grupo Televisa had its frontrunner status boosted by Venezuela's Venevision when it joined last week, reports Ad Age. Televisa, the world's biggest Spanish-language media group, is believed to have the best shot at snagging Univision if it can meet some high price expectations. Televisa already has an 11.4 percent stake in Univision, while supplying some of its best programming--and is also involved in litigation with it over long-standing grievances. But the deal won't come cheap: The company is believed to be looking for $40 a share, valuing it at more than $12 billion. "It's an auction," says Julio Rumbaut, president of an eponymous media consulting firm. "There are no guarantees. However, Televisa has the financial backing--the infrastructure--to maximize future Univision operations, and apparently the desire to prevail."

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