Univision CEO Randy Falco plans to exit the company, according to a statement from chairman Haim Saban.
The announcement comes a day after the Wall Street Journal first reported on Tuesday that the Univision board had been considering replacing Falco, and just months after the executive signed a two-year extension to his contract in November.
In the statement on Wednesday, Saban pushed back on the WSJ report, saying that it was Falco who had requested to retire at the end of 2018.
“On behalf of the Univision Board I would like to set the record straight about our CEO Randy Falco,” Saban said. “Recently Randy came to us and told us that he would like to retire at the end of 2018 when he will turn 65 years old and end an outstanding 8 year tenure as the CEO of Univision. Let me be clear we at the Board of Univision have reluctantly agreed to Randy’s wishes out of respect and the high regard we have for him as a partner.”
Falco’s departure is the latest shakeup at Univision after the company withdrew plans to public, citing unfavorable market conditions. As first reported by the Hollywood Reporter, CFO Francisco Lopez-Balboa, who was brought on by the Spanish-language broadcaster in 2015 to assist with a potential IPO, was the first to exit.
According to Saban, Falco will stay on to help the company transition to new leadership and oversee a restructuring of the company in the wake of the cancelled IPO. No replacement has been named.
Read Saban’s full statement below:
“There are multiple rumors out there and on behalf of the Univision Board I would like to set the record straight about our CEO Randy Falco. Recently Randy came to us and told us that he would like to retire at the end of 2018 when he will turn 65 years old and end an outstanding 8 year tenure as the CEO of Univision. Let me be clear we at the Board of Univision have reluctantly agreed to Randy’s wishes out of respect and the high regard we have for him as a partner. During his time as CEO he has modernized the Univision organization, grown earnings and reduced debt at record levels and we could not be more pleased with his performance. We have asked Randy to work with us over the next year in restructuring the company and consult with the board on a transition to new leadership.”