We have extensive experience in the communications and media sectors, both in the United States and around the world. Our clients include companies active in these sectors, including private equity funds in several acquisitions and dispositions of media-related portfolio companies.
Experience
Thales: Represented Thales in acquisitions and antitrust issues throughout the world.
Muzak Holdings: Represented Silver Point Capital Advisors L.P. and related funds, as the largest secured and unsecured creditors, and ultimately as a plan sponsor, in connection with the chapter 11 cases of Muzak Holdings, a leading international supplier of business media services.
Publishing Company: Represent a steering committee of first lien lenders of a leading educational Canadian publisher active in all areas of publishing (K-12, higher education, professional learning, business, industry and other markets) in connection with the publisher’s out-of-court restructuring efforts.
Reader’s Digest: Represented the U.K.’s Pension Protection Fund in connection with the Reader’s Digest chapter 11 cases.
Wilmington Trust Co.: Represented Wilmington Trust Co. as indenture trustee for bondholders in the chapter 11 cases of leading North American newsprint maker AbitibiBowater Inc.
Broadview Networks Holding Inc.: Represented the voice and high-speed Internet access services and solutions provider for business in a proposed IPO.
CenturyLink/Level 3 Financing: Represented CenturyLink, Inc. a number of offerings, including:
- $1.5 billion 144A offerings of Level 3 Financing, Inc. senior secured notes.
- $1 billion 144A offering of Level 3 Financing, Inc. senior notes.
Level 3 Communications, Inc.: Advised Level 3, a leading international provider of fiber-based communications and information services company with one of the largest Internet backbones in the world, on a number of offerings, including its $775 million 144A offering of senior notes.
Time Warner Inc.: Advised Time Warner Inc., as guarantor, in Central European Media Enterprises’ new €469 million senior unsecured term credit facility.
Bloomberg L.P.: Advised the global provider of business news and financial information services, on the following IP matters:
- Compliance: Advised Bloomberg on a wide variety of matters, including compliance with telecommunications, data protection, and privacy laws in over 70 of the jurisdictions in which it has customers.
- Registration: Coordinate Bloomberg’s trademark registrations worldwide.
- Standard Setting: Counseled Bloomberg in connection with providing information over a proprietary network and the Internet, radio and television broadcasting, and book and magazine publishing.
- Transactions: Negotiated and closed on the sale of the monthly Bloomberg Wealth Manager magazine to the National Underwriting Company and on the subscription liability of Bloomberg Personal Finance magazine to Time Consumer Marketing, Inc. We also drafted form agreements for Bloomberg Press to use in negotiating agreements to custom publish magazines and newsletters.
Ariel Alternatives/Sorenson Communications: Represented Ariel Alternatives, LLC, in its acquisition of a majority stake in Sorenson Communications, a deal with an enterprise value of $1.3 billion.
Atlas Holdings/R.R. Donnelley: Represented Atlas Holdings in its planned acquisition of R.R. Donnelley for $2.1 billion.
Blackstone/gfu: Represented Blackstone and its portfolio company Clarion Events on Clarion’s joint venture with gfu to host leading consumer electronics and home appliances trade show IFA.
Broadview/Windstream: Represented Broadview Networks Holdings, Inc., a leading provider of cloud-based unified communications solutions, in its deal to be acquired by Windstream Holdings, Inc. for $227.5 million.
Davidson Kempner/eir/NJJ Telecom Europe: Represented Davidson Kempner Capital Management LP (as a key shareholder) in connection with the NJJ-led consortium’s pending acquisition of eir, the largest integrated telecommunications provider in Ireland, for an enterprise value of approximately €3.5 billion.
Development Partners International/Eaton Towers/American Tower Corporation: Represented DPI, a significant minority shareholder, on the $1.85 billion sale of Eaton Towers to American Tower Corporation.
The Feed Room, Inc.: Advised The Feed Room, a provider of web video solutions and technology for corporations, media/publishing organizations and government agencies, in multiple rounds of preferred stock financing.
ForgeLight/Searchlight Capital/Univision: Represented ForgeLight LLC, an operating and investment company focused on the media and consumer technology sectors, in its acquisition with Searchlight Capital Partners of a majority interest in Univision, a leading Spanish language media company in the United States.
Hachette Book Group/Workman Publishing: Represented Hachette Book Group, a subsidiary of Lagardére SA, in its $240 million acquisition of Workman Publishing.
Hawaiian Telcom/Cincinnati Bell/Twin Haven: Represented Twin Haven Capital Partners, LLC, one of the largest stockholders of Hawaiian Telcom, in connection with the approximately $650 million merger of Hawaiian Telcom and Cincinnati Bell Inc.
Interpublic Group/Acxiom Marketing Solutions: Represented Interpublic Group in its $2.3 billion acquisition of data marketing company Acxiom Marketing Solutions.
La Martinière Groupe/Média-Participation: Represented La Martinière Groupe and its main shareholders in connection with the combination with Média-Participations, creating the third-largest publishing group in France.
Lagardère/Lagardère Sports/H.I.G. Capital: Represented Lagardère on the contemplated sale of its leading global sports marketing firm, Lagardère Sports, to H.I.G. Capital.
Lakeside Book Company/Atlas Holdings/Phoenix Color Corp: Represented Lakeside Book Company, an Atlas Holdings platform company, in its acquisition of Phoenix Color Corp.
Level 3 Communications/CenturyLink: Represented Level 3 Communications, Inc. in its merger agreement under which CenturyLink acquired Level 3 in a cash and stock transaction valued at approximately $34 billion.
Loral/Telesat/PSP Investments: Represented Loral in its agreement with PSP Investments and Telesat Canada to combine Loral and Telesat into a new Canadian public company.
Moore Frères & Company/Opera TV: Represented Moore Frères & Company in its acquisition of Opera TV, the global leader in enabling the TV and media industry's transition to over-the-top (OTT) content.
Overtime Elite/Amazon: Represented Overtime Elite in its exclusive multiyear media rights agreement with Amazon.
Mint Mobile/T-Mobile: Represented Ryan Reynolds in the sale of Mint Mobile to T-Mobile.
Shamrock Capital Advisors/EDO: Represented Shamrock Capital Advisors on its investment in data, measurement and analytics company EDO, Inc.
Shamrock Capital Advisors/Religion of Sports: Represented Shamrock Capital in its Series B investment in Religion of Sports, a leading sports media production company.
Shamrock Capital/VidMob: Represented Shamrock Capital in its Series D investment in VidMob, the leading platform for Intelligent Creative.
SIG/Z Capital: Represented Sports Information Group, LLC, a multi-media information company serving the sports industry through its flagship Daily Racing Form platform and other brands, in its acquisition by affiliates of Z Capital Partners, L.L.C.
Syntagma/Nexans' Telecom Systems: Represented Syntagma in its acquisition of Nexans’ Telecom Systems business.
TRACE/TPG Growth: Represented leading African music and entertainment company TRACE, TRACE’s co-founder, Olivier Laouchez, and the TRACE management team in TRACE’s acquisition by TPG Growth.
TracFone/Verizon: Represented América Móvil in the approximately $6.25 billion sale of TracFone to Verizon.
Venture 10/AFV/ Clarion: Represented the producers and principals of Venture 10 Studio Group in connection with the roll up of Venture 10 Studio Group into V10 Entertainment, Inc., a newly formed company backed by Clarion Capital Partners, and the acquisition of a majority stake in Vin Di Bona Productions and Fishbowl Worldwide Media, the producers of the America’s Funniest Home Videos franchise.
Vivendi/SFR/Numericable: Advised on the $23 billion sale of French media titan Vivendi’s telecom unit SFR to cable group Numericable. The bid proposal is supported by Luxembourg investment fund Altice.
WebMediaBrands Corporation: Represented WebMediaBrands Corporation (formerly Jupitermedia Corporation) in connection with numerous acquisitions and dispositions, including:
- Represented WebMediaBrands in connection with the sales of Jupiter Research, Search Engine Strategies and ClickZ.
- Represented WebMediaBrands in its acquisitions of Mediabistro, Workbook, Animation Factory, Comstock Images, Creatas/Dynamic Graphics and PictureArts.