HCP Press Releases
September 4, 2003
HCP Invests in Nation’s Leading Hispanic Weekly Newspaper to Pursue Rapidly Growing Market
CHICAGO - (BUSINESS WIRE) - Sept. 4, 2003 - HCP & Company (“HCP”) announced today its investment in Rossi Publications, Inc. (RPI), the publisher of La Raza, Chicago’s leading Spanish language newspaper and the largest circulated Spanish language Sunday newspaper in the nation. Under the new partnership, the name Rossi Publications, Inc., was changed to PrensAmerica Corp. The new entity will remain Hispanic owned and operated. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
HCP’s investment will enable the 33-year old company to accelerate its ongoing expansion in Chicago’s suburban areas where the Hispanic population has grown by close to 70% over the past 10 years. HCP will also assist the company in expanding the distribution of La Raza Paginas Amarillas; a rapidly growing Spanish-language telephone directory geared to Latino consumers in the greater Chicago area. Other acquisitions are being planned as the company has its sights on expanding well beyond the Chicago market.
Carlos L. Signoret, a Partner at HCP, commented, “Our investment will assist La Raza in maintaining market leadership in Chicago, as well as expanding its reach to other markets.”
La Raza is an award-winning publication that enjoys the largest audited circulation, reach and readership among Spanish-language publications in the Chicago DMA. La Raza’s current 150,000 press run is poised to increase to 190,000+ as of September 14, 2003 in an effort to serve Latino homes in Waukegan, Aurora, West Chicago, Elgin, South Chicago, Blue Island and East Chicago, Indiana.
La Raza’s circulation is audited by Certified Audit of Circulations (CAC), a leading audit and research organization serving publishers, advertisers and advertising agencies. The survey of home delivery conducted by CAC indicates that La Raza enjoys 96% accuracy in targeting Hispanic households in their distribution areas.
Luis H. Rossi, former President and publisher of RPI, will remain a significant stakeholder and will serve as Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors of PrensAmerica. Rossi will continue to play an integral part in the future development of the newspaper. Mr. Rossi explained, “HCP shares our vision of expanding the company into new areas in order to better serve our community. HCP’s financial support and market expertise will play a crucial role in our growth strategy, thus ensuring our leadership position as the premiere Hispanic publishing company in Chicago in the years to come.”
Robert J. Armband, CEO and Publisher of PrensAmerica, stated, “The investment is in-line with our strategy to strengthen and diversify our revenue base by facilitating the Chicago market expansion of La Raza and in providing capital for strategic U.S. Hispanic print acquisitions.” He also noted, “With all the recent activity in the Hispanic print arena, our industry may currently be the fastest growing and most rapidly consolidating media sector.”
Chicago’s Hispanic population, currently estimated at 1.6 million, is the nation’s fourth largest and is experiencing the fastest growth rate among the top five Hispanic metropolitan areas in the U.S., which include Los Angeles, New York, Miami and Houston. Hispanics account for nearly 25% of Chicago’s metropolitan population and are responsible for over 66% of the total population growth in the state of Illinois over the past ten years.
Victor L. Maruri, a Partner at HCP, noted, “As our first major investment since the Fund closed five months ago, La Raza meets practically all of our criteria which include attractive growth potential for our investors, a valuable product for our community and a significant financial commitment to inner city economic development.” Maruri further noted, “The fact that our first investment is in our home base of Chicago, makes it all the more exiting.”