Covington’s M&A experience brings together a sophisticated approach to transactional matters with a deep understanding of industry, regulatory and business issues specifically attuned to the communications and media sectors. The unique issues facing clients in this sector require M&A counsel schooled in the demands and opportunities of the media and communications space, as well as current M&A practice. By integrating transactional advice, whether from a single office or multiple offices working together, with industry, business and regulatory insight and experience, our approach has put us at the center of cutting-edge industry transactions. Our approach has allowed us to not only advise clients on key issues, but to craft entire transaction structures, whether domestic or cross-border, creating new opportunities for media and communications clients to realize strategic growth or maximize value.
Our M&A work spans the breadth of the communications and media sector -- ranging from acquisitions of television and radio station groups, to cable networks; from newspapers to wireless communications systems in both the US and Europe. The breadth of our client relationships -- in Asia, Europe, as well as the US -- is matched by the range of our experience with M&A issues and transaction strategies that create novel opportunities, such as station sales structured as tax-free like-kind exchanges, television and radio acquisitions that combine local marketing agreements, joint sales agreements or other sharing arrangements; cross-border transactions; acquisition transactions paired with public and private debt financings; and simultaneous multi-party, multi-station station sales.
Representative Matters
- QUALCOMM in its United Kingdom acquisitions of Trigenix, a mobile-user interface company, and Elata (Holdings) Limited, a global leader in mobile content delivery software.
- Raycom Media in its acquisition of 15 television stations from Liberty Media and subsequent divestiture of certain stations.
- LIN TV Corp. in a tax-free like-kind asset swap of television stations with Blade Communications, and related creation of partnership to own and manage one of the exchange stations on a combined basis.
- Barrington Broadcasting in a simultaneous four-party, two-station acquisition and sale, with related sharing arrangements between Barrington and its co-acquirer.
Accolades
- Chambers USA, leading Communications Finance practice (2006).
- Chambers USA, leading Communications practice (2004-2007).
- Chambers USA, leading Media and Entertainment practice (2006-2007).
- Ranked by Practical Law Company as a leading Communications practice (2005-2006).
- Our partners have significant experience outside of the practice ─ for example, on Capitol Hill, where they were deeply involved in the development of telecommunications legislation, and in the executive suites of major and highly visible media companies.
- Our partners have over the years held leadership positions in major associations in the media field ─ including the Federal Communications Bar Association, the International Radio and Television Society Foundation, the Media Institute and the Media Law Resource Center.
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