Haim Saban’s efforts to sell Univision Communications included talks with billionaire investor Carlos Slim Helú, The Post has learned.
Mexico-based Slim, one of the wealthiest persons in the world, whose holdings include media assets, is said to be weighing a bid for the large Spanish-language TV network, sources said.
“Carlos Slim could just come in and buy the whole thing,” said one source close to the owners, although foreign nationals are limited to holding 25 percent of US media companies.
Slim, worth $68 billion, couldn’t be reached for comment.
Comcast and Netflix were also approached about buying the property, according to the source.
Both parties declined comment, but insiders at both companies suggested there was no interest.
Comcast owns Telemundo, Univision’s biggest rival, and Netflix is starting its own Spanish-language original programming operation.
Saban, part of an investment group that bought Univision in 2007, also had talks with CBS and Time Warner about buying the network, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.
The owners are looking for about $20 billion for Univision, the Journal reported.
No major media company has tried to target Spanish-language viewers in the US with an over-the-top service (delivered via broadband), and so Univision could be of strategic importance.
Historically, Univision has acquired much of its programming from Mexican production giant Televisa, which holds a stake in the network.
In more recent years, Univision has focused on owning more of its own content.
Ad revenue at Univision went backward after the takeover, falling from $678 million in 2007 to $643 million in 2009 as the Great Recession sapped corporate spending. It has turned around, however, up in each of the last two years, according to SNL Kagan.
Airing the World Cup in 2010 and 2014 hasn’t hurt.
Univision isn’t just a broadcast network. The company owns cable networks and TV stations, and it has a digital presence. It also has a joint venture entertainment channel called Fusion with Disney, which has eyed Univision in the past.
The company has been a big beneficiary of retransmission dollars paid by distributors to carry broadcast networks. In 2007, Univision’s network earned just $37.5 million; it is projected to net $249.5 million this year, according to SNL Kagan.
Univision ranked third in the 18- to 49-year-old demographic among all broadcast networks in the week of June 10, but as more Americans identify as Hispanic, media companies have been ramping up their own offerings.
21st Century Fox launched MundoFox in 2012. Smaller efforts have included cable channels such as El Rey network and SiTV, which houses NuvoTV, backed by singer Jennifer Lopez.
A spokeswoman for Univision could not be reached for comment.