Hispanic Online Leaders Planeta Networks, Batanga Merge
Posted by Elena del Valle on December 8, 2005
Rafael Urbina, CEO of HMI
Miami, FL and Greensboro, NC –Planeta Networks (http://www.planetatv.com) and Batanga (http://www.batanga.com) , two leading privately held Hispanic media Internet companies, announced a merger in an all-stock transaction effective immediately. The new website will be bilingual.
The merger will create a leading multimedia online network for Hispanics. It will combine the Planeta Broadband video business with the Batanga Latin music and online radio network and add Latin sports and auto content channels. Together, the companies will meet a wider set of customer needs, more than double their customer reach and be able to accelerate growth in new markets, such as the mobile and advanced television arena.
The new company will operate under the Hispanic Media, Inc. (HMI) name. Rafael Urbina, founder and chief executive officer of Planeta Networks, will continue as CEO of HMI. Troy McConnell, founder and chief executive officer of Batanga, will be president and chief operating officer of HMI.
"We are passionate about the opportunity to provide unique and compelling online content to Hispanics,” said . Urbina. "This is the fastest growing market demographic in the U.S. and we believe we can deliver to these consumers an engaging online experience which will make HMI a part of their everyday life.”
"For our advertisers and their agencies,” continued McConnell, “we can now offer rich-media advertising formats across a broader content platform. This will provide marketers with more creative options to deliver their messages persuasively to a much larger Hispanic audience.”
Planeta Networks and Batanga currently have more than 80 advertising clients, more than half of which are Fortune 500 corporations. Revenue is derived primarily from online advertising and broadband video streaming. The new company will employ 55 professionals and have its headquarters in Miami, Florida while maintaining offices in Greensboro, Caracas and Madrid.
