PRISA approves merger with Liberty Acquisition

The board of directors of Spanish media conglomerate Promotora de Informaciones, S.A. (Grupo PRISA), has approved a plan to merge with Liberty Acquisition Holdings Corp, a NY-based investment fund. The share swap deal injects $868 million in cash into PRISA, and turns Liberty investors into PRISA shareholders. The Spanish company also joins the New York Stock Exchange.

According to Variety, PRISA’s new board of directors will include Liberty co-founders Nicolas Berggruen and Martin E. Franklin and former Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo. The stake owned by the Polanco family (PRISA’s founders) drops to 30 from 70%.

PRISA, which was carrying a heavy debt load, owns several newspapers, magazines, radio and TV stations in Spain, Portugal, Latin America and the U.S. Among its assets: El Pais newspaper, Caracol Radio in Colombia, Radio Continental in Argentina, and W Radio in the U.S.