Mexico's Televisa gets go-ahead for cable buy

(Releads, adds background on deal, details)

MEXICO CITY, May 13 (Reuters) - Mexico's competition agency has approved Televisa's purchase of a 49 percent stake in cable firm Cablemas, a key move to strengthen the broadcaster's position in the pay-per-view, Internet and phone markets.

Mexico's Federal Competition Commission said on Tuesday that Televisa could go ahead with the deal after meeting a series of requirements, including offering its content to smaller regional competitors to guarantee a level playing field for all cable operators.

In 2006, Televisa (TV.N: Quote, Profile, Research) (TLVACPO.MX: Quote, Profile, Research), the biggest producer of Spanish-language content in the world, invested $258 million in notes of a company that holds 49 percent of Cablemas. With the approval, the notes can now be converted into equity.

Televisa was not immediately available for comment.

The Cablemas deal will help Televisa expand its services in the so-called triple play market, where companies use broadband links to carry television, phone and Internet simultaneously and at cheaper prices than if purchased separately.

The undisputed leader in the broadcast television in Mexico, Televisa has expanded outside its core market in recent years, looking to boost revenue.

Televisa's cable unit, Cablevision, has presented some of the company's strongest sales increases in recent quarters but it only operates in the Mexico City area, where it just recently started offering phone services to its 551,000 subscribers.