Hemisphere Media‘s (NASDAQ:HMTV)
Before a shareholder vote on the deal, Hemisphere Media‘s (NASDAQ:HMTV) shareholders are reportedly becoming more hostile to the company’s $7 per share takeover.
According to a Dealreporter article, the deal’s rising opposition comes as ISS, a well-known proxy advisory firm, is anticipated to recommend against the merger next week, ahead of the deal’s holder vote on September 8.
Hemisphere (HMTV) reported in late June that it had received bids beyond the $7 per share agreement it had with Searchlight Capital Partners, prompting the holder objection and vote. According to a proxy filing, unnamed Company E made a takeover offer of $9 per share to HMTV on June 3 and unnamed Company F made a takeover offer of $8 per share on June 7.
According to Dealreporter, Standard General was one of the top bidders for the broadcast television business Tegna (TGNA), which is in the process of being acquired for $8.6 billion. The article claims that a $200 million bid for Pantaya was made in April by Paramount Global, the company that owns the CBS network and the Paramount+ streaming service.
A source told Dealreporter that the sale of Pantaya would increase Hemisphere’s (HMTV) worth to the point where the Spanish-language broadcaster can continue to operate independently, potentially driving up the price of its stock to the “mid-teens” or higher.
The sale of HMTV to a division of Gato Investments LP, a Searchlight Capital portfolio investment, was announced in May. Alongside the Gato transaction, HMTV also signed a second contract to sell TelevisaUnivision the Spanish-language streaming service Pantaya in the United States.
In trading on Wednesday, shares of Hemisphere Media (HMTV) decreased 0.1%.
The more expensive bids were made in response to Edenbrook Capital LLC, a shareholder in Hemisphere Media, stating in June that the equity value of its going-private deal should be at least $16–$23 per share.
Featured Image: Megapixl @Rafaelhenriquepress
Author Jowi Kwasu 
