Grupo Televisa to spin off gambling and football business entity

The Mexican entertainment conglomerate has received shareholder approval to separate its core business.

Mexico.- The media and entertainment conglomerate Grupo Televisa has received shareholder approval to spin off a dedicated “gambling and soccer” entity from its core business. The intention is for the new entity, which will also include lottery, to have a separate listing on the Mexican Stock Exchange (BMV).

At the extraordinary meeting held last week, shareholders voted to separate the gambling and football businesses into an entity with the same shareholding structure as the existing organisation. The spin-off will comprise PlayCity Casino’s 18 gaming venues and online offering, the daily and weekly Sorteos del Trébol football lottery and Estadio Azteca’s football portfolio, publishing, magazines and media rights distributions.

Estadio Azteca hosts Club América, Cruz Azul and national soccer team matches plus other international sports events and concerts.

The group said in a statement: “The management believes that this plan will allow both the company and the new entity to focus on their respective business models and growth opportunities, thus enhancing their ability to generate better access to capital, financing sources, and investors aligned with each business.”

The spin-off would increase Televisa’s ability to take advantage of gambling-specific growth opportunities and expand into new South American markets. It clarified that the spin-off remains “subject to various conditions, including compliance with applicable legislation, as well as obtaining all necessary corporate and regulatory approvals.”

Televisa merged with Univision in January 2022 to create TelevisaUnivision, focusing on Mexico, the US and Central America. An update on Televisa’s “reorganisation process” is expected before the end of the first half.

For 2022, the group reported revenue of $4.1bn, with a significant share coming from gambling. Until now, gambling has remained a “secondary business”, but the revenue from gambling-related units rose by 40.2 per cent last year to $407m.

See also: Spain’s CIRSA buys GanaBet.mx