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Robert J. Sherman

Robert J. Sherman

Partner
Co-Chair, Entertainment Finance Practice
About

Robert J. Sherman focuses his practice on domestic and cross-border financings, acquisitions and strategic transactions for clients in the entertainment and media industries. He represents banks, private equity funds, sponsors, independent production companies, commercial banks and private debt funds, motion picture studios, TV and film production and distribution companies, record companies, music publishers, concert and other live event promoters and other participants in complex motion picture, TV, digital content and music industry transactions.

Robert represents clients in matters involving the purchaser of media and entertainment assets from debtors in bankruptcy proceedings, assignments for the benefit of creditors and other insolvency and remedial proceedings.

Rob, who co-chairs DLA Piper's entertainment finance practice, has also represented a number of new and existing music market participants in forming and capitalizing their music rights acquisition activities and platforms.

    Bar admissionsCaliforniaNew York

    EXPERIENCE

    REPRESENTATIVE CLIENT REPRESENTATIONS:
    • In what was one of the largest music acquisitions of 2021, Rob represented Concord, a leading music company, in connection with the financing of Concord's acquisition of Downtown's iconic portfolio of 145,000 owned and co-published music copyrights
    • Represented Concord, a leading independent music company, in its US$1+ billion debt financing -- one of the largest music industry financings in recent times.
    • Represented HarbourView Equity Partners, a global alternative asset manager focused on investment opportunities in the media and entertainment space, in its launch and establishment of a $1 Billion strategic relationship with Apollo Global Management, Inc., a global alternative investment management firm
    • Represented HarbourView Equity Partners, in structuring and closing a nine-figure music-rights backed structured finance facility as well as closing a series of music royalties rights and a music rights ownership platform acquisitions with an aggregate value in excess of $350 million
    • Concord, a leading independent music company, in connection with the acquisition by a Concord affiliate of Downtown's iconic portfolio of 145,000 owned and co-published music copyrights
    • Concord in providing the company with access to over US$1 billion of term b and revolving debt financing in one of the largest music industry financings in recent times
    • Raven Capital Management and Sculptor Media in the financing and production of The Minuteman, a feature film starring Liam Neeson and Cop Shop, a feature film starring Gerard Butler
    • Raven Capital Management in its US$87.5 million acquisition of certain assets of Academy Award®-winning Hollywood studio Open Road Films and its follow-on re-launch of Open Road Films as a domestic theatrical distributor
    • A debt fund in various transactions including a US$50 million senior secured term loan to an independent cable network
    • A major independent film and television producer in the financing of the first season of a television series made for a major subscription video on demand service
    • A Canadian independent television and film production and distribution company in a revolving senior secured credit facility
    • A Latin American film production company in negotiating a revolving secured credit facility for the financing of multiple feature films
    • A major independent record company in renegotiation and structuring of revolving, senior-secured working capital credit facility
    • Banks and private equity funds in making single-picture senior secured production loans
    • Banks as participants in film, television and music publishing secured credit facilities
    • A major motion picture studio in structuring a series of cross-border and domestic co-financing arrangements with private investment funds with an aggregate deal value in excess of US$1 billion
    • A Mexican music company in the implementation and structuring of mixed stock and asset sale of a group of music publishing and recorded music companies
    • A private equity-backed acquirer of music publishing assets
    • A Caribbean-based conglomerate in connection with the financing, development, production and distribution of motion pictures, as well as the structuring of strategic joint ventures
    • A private equity fund in exercise of secured creditor remedies workout of structured senior secured "film slate" credit facility
    • A bank in a leveraged recapitalization of a music publishing company
    Education

      Awards

      The Legal 500 United States

      • Recommended, Media and Entertainment: Transactional (2023)
      Additional Recognitions
      • Variety, "Dealmakers Impact Report," 2018, 2020, 2021, 2023
      • Distressed M&A Deal of the Year award from The M&A Advisor in recognition of the representation of Raven Capital Management in its US$87.5 million acquisition of certain assets of Academy Award®-winning Hollywood studio Open Road Films
      • Global M&A Network Middle Market Restructuring Deal of the Year Award in recognition of the representation of Raven Capital Management in the Open Road Films acquisition
      • Super Lawyers Southern California Rising Star, 2007

      Media Mentions

      Memberships And Affiliations

      • Financial Lawyers Conference
      • Los Angeles County Bar Association
      • State Bar of California, Business Law Section, Uniform Commercial Code Committee

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