Mexico City — The companies of Ricardo Salinas Pliego, one of Mexico’s wealthiest individuals, face turmoil in the Mexican Stock Exchange, with his TV Azteca, the country’s second-largest television station, as one of the main drivers of this turbulence.
TV Azteca (AZTECACP) shares lost more than 30% of their value in 72 hours to trade at MXN$0.48 pesos per share, their lowest level since February 2021, after three creditors filed for the company to file for bankruptcy due to a bond default.
Planisfer Investments, Cyrus Opportunities Master Fund II and Sandpiper Limited, which hold TV Azteca senior notes for $63 million maturing in 2024, filed a petition with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York to start Chapter 11 proceedings under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. The court notified TV Azteca, which has 19 days to respond to the proceeding, according to court documents.
The company issued a statement on March 21 saying that it is ready to dialogue with creditors and reach a “favorable agreement for all parties”.
Who are TV Azteca’s main shareholders?
TV Azteca’s main shareholders are Comunicaciones Avanzadas (73.77%), a holding company of the subsidiary companies from Azteca Holdings; Ricardo Benjamín Salinas Pliego (11.55%), Arrendadora Internacional Azteca (4.28%), Operadora Inbursa (1.6%) and Actinver bank (0.55%), according to Bloomberg data.
Banco Azteca and Grupo Elektra own 99.9997% of the shares of Comunicaciones Avanzadas, while the remaining 0.0003% are held by Esther Pliego de Salinas, the billionaire’s mother, and Gabriel Roqueñi Rello, general counsel of Grupo Elektra and Banco Azteca, as well as secretary of the board of directors of both companies, according to the annual report of TV Azteca 2021.
Who are Grupo Elektra’s main shareholders?
Salinas Pliego inherited the retail business that is part of Grupo Elektra (ELEKTRA*), founded by his grandfather Hugo Salinas Rocha. Today the conglomerate also includes its financial division, Banco Azteca.
Grupo Elektra’s main shareholders are Ricardo Benjamín Salinas Pliego (78.42%), Vanguard Grup (0.94%), Impulsora y Promotora BlackRock (0.52%), Dimensional Fund Advisors LP (0.17%) and Charles Schwab Corporation (0.04%), according to Bloomberg.
Although Elektra’s shares have registered intraday volatility, the price remains stable, at MXN$942 per share, but with an annual drop of 26%.
What’s next for TV Azteca?
The broadcaster has less than 20 days to respond to the bankruptcy petition process currently being heard by Judge Lisa G. Beckerman.
Salinas Pliego, with a fortune of $10.9 billion according to Bloomberg Billionaire Index, has refrained from making any comments on the company’s stock or debt situation, but has posted some general messages on his Twitter account.
“People think they know the price of everything but really have no idea of the value of anything,” he wrote on his account.
