Orient Hontai seals deal for Mediapro parent company

Chinese investment fund Orient Hontai has ratified a deal to acquire a controlling stake in Imagina, the parent company of the Mediapro agency, according to Spanish newspaper El Confidencial.

The report said that the deal was signed yesterday (Tuesday).

Orient Hontai will snap up 54.5 per cent of Imagina for a total of €900m ($1.1bn) by picking up Torreal’s 23.5 per cent, as well as the shareholdings of Televisa (19 per cent) and Mediacable (12 per cent).

The report added that Mediapro’s founders, Jaume Roures and Tatxo Benet, would remain in charge of the Spanish agency.

Imagina also operates Globomedia, a separate movie and television series production company.

The deal was reported by TV Sports Markets in October, but the delay in rubber-stamping the agreement has been due to clearance from Chinese regulators, the newspaper added.

Mediapro has rights in Spain to football’s Uefa Champions League and also has international distribution rights for LaLiga, which operates the top division of football in the country.

Last week, Mediapro’s offer for domestic rights to Serie A, football’s top tier in Italy, was accepted. The deal, which will run from 2018-19 to 2020-21, still requires clearance from the Italian antitrust authority.