Prisa sells shares to reduce debt

08 March 2010

US company Liberty Acquisitions Holdings has acquired over 50% of the shares in Spanish media conglomerate Prisa Grupo in a $900m deal.

The agreement, which is expected to be completed by the middle of year, sees Liberty secure all new Prisa shares against 100% of its own assets. The deal also gives Liberty just under a third of voting rights in the company while current owners the Polanco family sees its stake reduced to around 30%.

Debts estimated to be worth around €4.8m have forced the move after Prisa fell victim to a severe dip in the country’s ad industry coinciding with an ill-timed expansion drive.

Prisa’s assets include Spanish TV stations and newspapers along with publishing companies in Spain, Portugal and Latin America. It has also been forced to reduce its stakes in pay-TV business Digital+ and Spanish telecoms company Telefónica.

Josh Colley, London