Nine DLA Piper partners named to Variety’s 2024 Dealmakers Impact Report

DLA Piper is pleased to announce that Tom Ara, Claire Hall, Katherine Imp, Michael Isselin, Stacy Marcus, David Markman, Benjamin Mulcahy, Richard Petretti and Robert J. Sherman have been named to Variety’s 2024 Dealmakers Impact Report in recognition of their contributions to entertainment deal making this year.

Variety noted that Ara, Global Co-Chair of the firm’s Media, Sport and Entertainment Sector, handled a number of notable transactions this year, including the sale of Caryn Mandabach Productions to Banijay UK, the renewal of animation studio Titmouse’s eight-figure production and first-look deal with Netflix, and a partnership between Korean streaming service Coupang Play and Major League Baseball.

Mulcahy, Chair of the firm’s National Advertising Team, was “at the center of many of the biggest transactions at the intersection of sports and entertainment,” according to Variety, including representing Amazon Prime Video in a $21 billion global media rights deal with the National Basketball Association for an exclusive package of NBA and WNBA games.

Markman, Co-Chair of the Entertainment Transactions practice, and partners Marcus, Imp, and Isselin were recognized as a team for matters “that have widespread impact on the industry,” including negotiations for SAG-AFTRA’s commercials contract, representing Lego Group in the negotiation of content production and distribution arrangements, and handling all aspects of Jeanie Buss and David McLane’s all-female wrestling promotion Women of Wrestling.

Sherman, Co-Chair of the firm’s Entertainment Finance practice, and partners Hall and Petretti were also recognized as a team. Variety noted Sherman and Hall’s extensive music catalog work, including securing approximately $500 million in financing for HarbourView Equity Partners and representing independent music company Concord in its issuance of $850 million in asset-backed notes. It also noted Petretti’s role serving as administrative agent on JPMorgan’s amendment of its $675 million term loan and revolving credit facility (expandable to $875 million) for Arnon Milchan’s Regency/Monarchy Entertainment group of companies.

DLA Piper's market-leading international team of media, sport and entertainment lawyers, located throughout the Americas, Asia Pacific, Europe, Africa and the Middle East, advise on finance, borrowing, investment, M&A and corporate matters as well as development, production and distribution matters across media sectors, including film, TV, music, interactive and new media, staging and exploiting live sports and other events, intellectual property protection and enforcement, regulatory and administrative issues, antitrust and competition law, stadium and arena development and on the resolution of disputes.