The new life of Mediapro: now it will be called Imagina

BarcelonaAfter losing about 285 million euros last year and a redundancy plan (ERO) that affected 189 people, Mediapro is starting a new life. This is what the executive chairman, Sergio Oslé, and the CEO, Carlos Núñez, stated this Wednesday to the staff at the audiovisual group's headquarters. The change will be finalized with a new name: Mediapro will be called Imagina starting January 1st, and over the next three years it will generate 100 million in free cash, once interest on debt and other charges are paid, which will be used to finance the growth of the audiovisual company. The resources will be invested in technology, alliances, and acquisitions to gain more volume.

The new 2027-2029 plan, which kicks off once the new management, who joined in January, has stabilized the finances, is being implemented when the founders are no longer part of the company. Jaume Roures left in 2023 and Tatxo Benet, who stopped being vice president last December, sold the 5% stake he still held in July to the majority shareholder, Southwind, linked to the Chinese firm Orient Hontai Capital, which now controls 90% of it. The rest is in the hands of the British advertising group WPP.

The name change, which will act as an umbrella for the entire group, does not respond to a break with the past, according to management. In fact, Imagina had already been one of the company's names and it is the name of the building where it has its headquarters in Barcelona. This name, they say, "expresses the will to look to the future while keeping the past very much in mind".

Oslé and Núñez anticipate that this year the operating result (Ebitda) will increase between 50% and 60% compared to the previous year, which means placing it at around 90 million euros. The group's cash generation, with sales of about 1,000 million euros, will allow—they state—the investment in growth to be self-financed, without having to ask for resources from shareholders or waivers from the creditor, which is essentially Pimco. Over the last few months, they have dedicated themselves to laying the foundations to start growth, eliminating superfluous costs and improving efficiency, with the review of all their business areas and a restructuring plan. The group's debt is 525 million.

The company will focus on its four main areas of activity: audiovisual services, which account for 45% of the business; content creation –it is the largest production company in Spain–, which stands between 20% and 25%; sports rights management, around 15%, and the Brand&Experiences area, which they want to boost and which accounts for a similar proportion. Along these lines is the new immersive experiences center that will be presented on September 21st, which is born with the vocation of hosting the most innovative cultural and technological proposals. The inaugural exhibition is Gaudí Code, the unpublished experience.The rights business

For Mediapro, it was a setback to lose the rights to the Spanish football league, even though it accounts for around 40 million a year out of total sales of 1 billion. In any case, one of its objectives is to grow in this rights business, in which it already provides service to 80 operators in 180 countries.

According to the company's leadership, 2026 is the year of stabilization to initiate growth, after reaching the financial and operational limit in 2025. The goals for the next three years are to have a business portfolio more oriented towards those with the most potential, higher quality and more diversified operating results, a culture oriented towards competing in the market, and a simpler organization.

The company maintains an open lawsuit against former company executives led by Julián Fernández and other collaborators, who signed with NVP Sports Marketing –one of the winners of the League contract that Mediapro previously held–, and who allegedly took confidential and sensitive information with them.