Filed Under: Blogante Business, Business, Press Releases
Tagged: Univision
itch Ratings has assigned a ‘B+/RR3′ rating to Univision Communications, Inc.’s (Univision) senior secured note offering. The proceeds are expected to be used to tender the company’s 7.85% notes due 2011. Univision’s Issuer Default Rating (IDR) is rated ‘B’. The Rating Outlook is Stable.
Univision’s ratings and Outlook are at the low end of their categories. The ratings are constrained by a highly leveraged capital structure, which leaves creditors with a very limited margin of safety. Fitch maintains a conservative view of the prospects for economic weakness, but acknowledges that the rating is susceptible if advertising underperforms Fitch’s grim outlook.
Over the latest 12 months, Fitch has commented that Univision faced several obstacles over the intermediate term. Importantly, two of those obstacles ? payment of the second-lien loan and the Grupo Televisa S.A. (Televisa) litigation ? have largely been resolved. Fitch believes the company’s remaining major obstacle over the intermediate term concerns the impact the existing economic downturn will have on Univision’s ability to make interest and principal amortization payments and meet covenant step-downs. In Fitch’s view, Univision should have the ability to meet these obligations.
While 2009 should be extremely difficult for advertising revenues, Fitch believes retransmission revenues, paid-in-kind (PIK) interest, and the maturation of $7 billion of higher-than-market interest rate swaps should provide the additional liquidity needed for debt compliance over the short term. Fitch’s current expectations are for advertising revenue to be down in the 10% range, comprised of national advertising likely down in the low single digits and local advertising down more than 15%. However, Fitch expects Univision’s net first-lien leverage to remain below the covenant limit of 11.25 times (x) by year-end 2009 and that the company should be able to handle future covenant step-downs.
The ratings are supported by Univision’s underlying portfolio of assets, which include duopoly television and radio stations in most of the top Hispanic markets, with a national overlay of broadcast and cable networks.
Liquidity is supported by approximately $473 million of cash on hand on March 31, 2009. The company had approximately $43 million of cash remaining in the Reserve Fund at that same time and received a distribution of $17 million in April 2009. Additionally, the company used $150 million to permanently reduce its revolver borrowings on June 19, 2009. The company’s remaining maturity schedule includes principal amortization on its term loans of approximately $150 million in 2010 and $200 million in 2011. Univision’s $500 million 7.85% senior notes mature in July 2011, potentially bringing total 2011 maturities above $700 million. Principal amortization is reduced to less than $90 million per year thereafter. Fitch’s expectations are for the company to generate positive cash flow in 2010 and 2011 and to be able to handle these maturities organically. Remaining bullet maturities begin in 2014 and are substantial.
The Recovery Ratings and notching reflect Fitch’s recovery expectations under a distressed scenario. Univision’s recovery ratings reflect Fitch’s expectation that the enterprise value of the company, and hence, recovery rates for its creditors, will be maximized in a restructuring scenario (going concern), rather than a liquidation. Fitch has recently reduced its market multiple to 7x from 9x, reflecting the existing difficult economic environment. The 7x market multiple reflects the company’s FCC licenses in top U.S. markets, the elimination of the Televisa litigation and long-term growth prospects, among other things. Fitch estimates the adjusted distressed enterprise valuation in restructuring to be approximately $4.4 billion. The ‘B+/RR3′ rating for the secured debt reflects Fitch’s expectations for recovery at the low end of the 51%-70% range under a bankruptcy scenario.
For additional information, please see Fitch’s 10-page report on Univision published today and available on Fitch’s web site at www.fitchratings.com.
Fitch’s rating definitions and the terms of use of such ratings are available on the agency’s public site, www.fitchratings.com. Published ratings, criteria and methodologies are available from this site, at all times. Fitch’s code of conduct, confidentiality, conflicts of interest, affiliate firewall, compliance and other relevant policies and procedures are also available from the ‘Code of Conduct’ section of this site.
Fitch Ratings
Jamie Rizzo, CFA, 212-908-0548, New York
Mike Simonton, CFA, 312-368-3138, Chicago
or
Media Relations:
Cindy Stoller, 212-908-0526, New York
Email:
” title=”mailto:cindy.stoller@fitchratings.com\”
“>cindy.stoller@fitchratings.com”
- Twitter: Univision
- Wikipedia: Univision
- YouTube: Univision
- Google: Univision
- Google News: Univision
- Bing: Univision
- Bing News: Univision
- Yahoo: Univision
- Wordpress.com: Univision
- Ask.com Blog Search: Univision
Knowledge is Power and this page is just the start. Hispanics/Latinos are a growing diverse force in this country. Check out some of the 53,938 items found on this site below or dig into the Site Map
Best of the Rest
- November 7, 2009
- WCVI Study Finds Disproportionate Foreclosures in Latino, Black Communities
- A small Dominican Republic town plagued by birth defects wants to know if a U.S. power company is to blame.
- In pictures: Yucatan wonders – (wow some amazing photos)
- George Mason University Study Shows Deep Anti-Immigration Sentiment in Pockets of Prince William County
- CNN’s Rick Sanchez Interviews Juanita Castro: “While you were still in Cuba and your brother was beginning a Marxist revolution, you were not only cooperating with the CIA, but you were protecting CIA agents who were inside Cuba at the time.”
- Report on Women’s Human Rights Violations Shows Systematic Attack on Women Under Honduran Coup
- Would Mass Deportation Mean More Jobs for U.S. Workers?
- November 6, 2009
- The closing immigration window
- THE LEGALIZATION SOLUTION – IPC Reports Highlight Gains Made From Legalization Programs Past and Explore Future Legalization Proposals
- Activists Push for Immigration Reform on Anniversary of Long Island Hate Crime – Marcelo Lucero
- Miami sports agent who aided in defections freed from jail – Juan Ignacio Hernández Nodar, a Miami sports agent who served 13 years for trying to help Cuban baseball stars defect, will fly home Friday.
- Like California’s 30 years ago, Oregon’s growing Latino population is reaching a tipping point: A critical mass of Latino professionals is starting to organize and influence state and local politics. – dubbed Latino Agenda for Action
- The memory of Marcelo Lucero’s death still horrifies but the atmosphere that created it still exists
- One of Marcelo Lucero’s Attackers Pleads Guilty
- A third woman has filed a paternity claim against Paraguay’s Roman Catholic bishop-turned- president, her lawyer confirmed Thursday – President Fernando Lugo
- November 5, 2009
- AZ GOP Committeman: Ask “Brown People” About Crime in Tucson
- Francisco Ayala, honored Spanish author, dies at 103
- Mixed impressions inside the poll numbers – Texans on immigration
- Hispanic women snap up brands that boost their behinds- Colombian jeans celebrate women’s curves
- In Mexico, fears of a ‘lost generation’ – Violence among young soars as drug cartels recruit more minors
- They’ll (the NBA) take our money, but do they want us in the stands?
- Geraldo Rivera faces tough critics – a pair of abuelitas
- Remembering Marcelo Lucero : One Year Later, The List of Hate Crimes Grows Longer
- Guest Columnist: Sergio Troncoso. Is the Texas Library Association excluding Latino writers?
- The Prevention Research Center (PRC) in St. Louis is launching a multinational research project focused on preventing the leading causes of death in Hispanics in the United States and Latin America. – will conduct a four-year, $2.8 million effort to apply and adapt evidence-based strategies for preventing heart disease, cancer, diabetes and obesity in the United States, Mexico and Brazil
- Hispanic Voter Turnout Remains Low – voter turnout rate of just 21% in Yakima, WA
- Dr. Luther Castillo — Voice of the Voiceless in Honduras
- FIU to develop model programs to keep Hispanics in college – Although 57% of non-Hispanic white students nationwide graduate within six years; only 46 % of Hispanics do so.
- Dominican-born judge wins bench in N.Y. State Supreme Court – Diccia Pineda-Kirwan
- Deal to restore Manuel Zelaya in Honduras at risk – Supporters of ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya say lawmakers are stalling efforts to bring him back to office before a Nov. 29 election.
- November 4, 2009
- Study finds Lehigh Valley’s Hispanic students are progressing – But struggles persist in areas such as reading. Valley area review is called ‘eye-opening’ – Pennsylvania
- Hispanic Women Run for Nevada Office – Several candidates hope to alter the composition of the Nevada State Legislature. There are currently no Hispanic women serving in the legislature, but four have already announced they will run next year
- Reid Gets No GOP Support For Resolution Honoring Hispanic Media
- A soldier every 3 feet on the US/Mexico border = 6,930,880 soldiers – Immigration Anecdotes
- Stop the Deportation of the Mejia-Perez Family; Parents of a Dreamer
- In these times, cities need to do more to help day laborers
- ICE gives voice to victims of human trafficking in the United States
- Board of Immigration Appeals Rules Not to Reopen Old Deportation Cases
- Hispanics urged to make census count – Cities plan outreach to allay fears of government probing that could limit federal dollars – Chicago area
- November 2, 2009
- The 287(g) policy has become a perverted version of its original intent in Tennessee
Latest Essentials
- November 7, 2009
- MARISA TREVIÑO: She’s one blogging Latina lista to be reckoned with!
- Honduras leadership in limbo as accord dissolves
- BLS: Unemployment Rate Rose to 10.2% in October; Hispanic Unemployment at 13.1%
- November 6, 2009
- Carmen Ortiz has been confirmed as the U.S. attorney for Massachusetts, becoming the first Hispanic and the first woman to hold the state’s top federal prosecutor’s job.
- A Mix of Flash and Idealism at the Latin Grammys – Glitz and heart-on-sleeve emotionality mingled, every so often, with political and social messages at the 10th annual Latin Grammy Awards.
- Native American corporations, particularly an array of Alaska Native Corporations, have become major defense and homeland security contractors – responsible for a wide range of national security operations, including electronic surveillance on the border, running immigrant detention centers, and supplying security and other services in U.S. overseas wars and energy exploitation.
- Latin Grammys: Calle 13 dominates with 5 awards – “Other than Calle 13, there were no other major winners. ” – Mercedes Sosa won the prize for Best Folk Album.
- Senate Democrats Thursday blocked a GOP attempt to require next year’s census forms to ask people whether they are U.S. citizens – Vitter’s attempts fail
- November 5, 2009
- TOP Ten Latino-themed Caskets for Sale at Wal-Mart
- Low Latino voter turnout in NJ and VA elections reveal a return to the old ways
- Grassroots Effort to Oust Lou Dobbs Now 100,000 Strong – Latino leaders and their allies who are part of BastaDobbs.com vow to continue online campaign putting pressure on CNN to drop Dobbs
- Latin Grammys honors Mexican icon Juan Gabriel – The Latin music world celebrated 100 million records sold, 1,500 songs written and 30 years of recording, all by one artist, Mexico’s beloved Juan Gabriel.
- Calle 13: With the people, without a map – Calle 13 hit it big in a hurry. Unsettled by fame, MC Rene Perez set out to connect on a personal level with Latin America.
- For immigrants, illness can bring a death sentence
- The U.S. Supreme Court has indicated it is interested in hearing an appeal from business groups that, for the past two years, have been trying to have Arizona’s controversial employer-sanctions law thrown out. – The sanctions law, which punishes companies for hiring illegal immigrants and requires all Arizona employers to use a federal electronic system to verify the work status of employees, has been upheld by two lower courts.
- Cuban Tomas Regalado was elected mayor of Miami with a pledge to control spending, limit property-tax increases and curtail development
- A top Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) official confirmed that officers were conducting a training exercise at CSUN that involved members of Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan (MEChA) earlier this semester. – Members said they were targeted and profiled by LAPD officers during their first meeting on Sept. 2. & that they were followed, harassed and intimidated by “undercover police officers” during a ceremony to welcome first-time freshmen to their organization.
- November 4, 2009
- Walking a mile in an immigrant’s moccasins – Ben Reed married Deyanira Escalona in Mexico after she was deported at LAX while en route to their planned wedding in Idaho. They live in Mexico now. “I’ve been radicalized by the whole experience,” Reed says.
- Half of American kids will live in households receiving food stamps before age 20, according to a study reported Monday in Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.
- Friendly Fire? CNN’s Lou Dobbs Gets Called Out By CNN’s Reliable Sources
- Native Americans Profit from Abusive Immigrant Detention and Billions of Dollars in National Security Contracts
- Miriam Flores is a 42-year-old Mexican immigrant who has taken the cause of English as a second language to the nation’s highest courts.
- Child welfare workers too quick to remove Latino children from their families
- Latin Grammys aim to bring Latin music to the mainstream – After a decade, Latin music’s most important awards show still falls short of its original goals — bringing greater visibility to Latin artists and musical styles.
- The debate over health care for illegal immigrants continues to percolate in Congress despite the Obama administration’s efforts to put it to rest, with lawmakers in both houses also wrangling over how much coverage to provide for immigrants who have settled in the country legally.
- Lawrence elects Massachusetts’ first Latino mayor – William Lantigua
- November 2, 2009
- Latinos need more than lip service – Families are being torn apart by America’s broken immigration system. President Obama needs to show leadership and fix it – (the view from England)
- The Newest Face in the Late-Night Party – The arrival of “Lopez Tonight” on TBS is breaking up what Jay Leno likes to call “the parade of nine white men” on the late-night talk shows.
- A little more than 1 million people work in the illegal drug trade including “around 200,000” women, according to the COCyP association of peasant organizations, based on police estimates.
- The Strange Bedfellows of the Census Boycott
- Top 10 Reasons Not To Wear A Culturally Appropriating Halloween Costume
- ‘Drop Lou Dobbs’ Campaign Nearing 100,000 Signature Goal – need 30k more!
- Rights activists in the northern Mexican border city of Tijuana have hung 5,100 small white crosses on the fence straddling the U.S. frontier to commemorate migrants who have died trying to cross.
- Immigrant Jail Tests U.S. View of Legal Access – City Bar Justice Center is calling for all immigrant detainees to be provided with counsel.
- The Hispanic Market Is Set to Soar – The 2010 Census will radically alter the demographic map and the rules of engagement between Hispanic and general-market shops
- October 30, 2009
- Song banned, band pulls out of Luna Awards TV show – Los Tigres del Norte is initially barred from playing its latest drug-trade lyrics. – “La Granja”
- Mexican emigrants sent home $16.4 billion during the first nine months of this year, down 13.4% from the same period in 2008
- Sanchez sisters eyed by House ethics panel for alleged collusion – Linda and Loretta CA Democrats
- U.S. May Be Open to Asylum for Spouse Abuse – Immigration lawyers said the administration had taken a major step toward clarifying a murky area of asylum law and defining the legal grounds on which battered and sexually abused women in foreign countries could seek protection here.
- Did a resolution honoring Hispanic media trigger a silent boycott among the GOP?
