Mexico’s Televisa rebuffed in takeover bid for rival cable company

Megacable Holdings SAB rejected an offer by Grupo Televisa SAB, the world’s largest Spanish-language broadcaster, to purchase a 55% stake in the Mexican cable and internet provider, arguing its current business plan offers better prospects.

Megacable received an unsolicited offer on Nov. 14, it said in a filing to the Mexican stock exchange, confirming an earlier statement from Televisa. The Guadalajara, Mexico-based company said it rejected the offer last week and informed Televisa of its decision on Monday, adding that the business isn’t for sale.

In the earlier statement, Televisa said it presented Megacable shareholders with an offer that would have given them a 19% premium to merge that company with its own competing business. Televisa said it also offered a special cash dividend of about 14.8 billion pesos ($760 million) and pledged to continue to pursue a deal.

Trading of both stocks was halted after Megacable soared 13% and Televisa rose 6.4% on news of a possible deal. A combination of the companies would strengthen Televisa’s grip on the Mexican internet and cable TV market.

Reuters had reported Televisa’s offer late Tuesday. Bloomberg