Weil advised Mubadala Development Company PJSC, a strategic investment arm of the Abu Dhabi Government, in the formation of a joint venture with Sony/ATV and a consortium of co-investors – including GSO Capital Partners, Jynwel Capital and film and music mogul David Geffen – to acquire EMI’s music publishing business for $2.2 billion. The transaction closed on June 29, 2012 following clearance by EU and US antitrust regulators. Weil also advised the full consortium on numerous aspects of the transaction, including negotiation of the acquisition agreements with Citigroup and EMI and the $1.25 billion senior secured and $403.3 million senior notes financing for the acquisition.
Under the terms of the transaction, which was announced in November 2011, EMI’s catalog will be administered by Sony/ATV jointly with its music publishing catalog to create a library of more than 2 million songs, making the combined operations the world’s largest music publisher.
The Weil team representing Mubadala was led by New York M&A partner William Gutowitz, London M&A partner Michael Francies and New York Banking & Finance partner Daniel Dokos and included Corporate/M&A partners Howard Chatzinoff (New York) and Douglas Ryder (New York); Capital Markets partner Todd Chandler (New York); Technology & IP Transactions partners Jeffrey Osterman (New York) and Barry Fishley (London); Banking & Finance partner James Hogben (London); Business Finance and Restructuring partner Debra Dandeneau (New York); Pensions partner Joanne Etherton (London); Tax partner Sarah Priestley (London); and Complex Commercial Litigation partner Matthew Shankland (London); counsel Ivor Gwilliams, Arlene Hahn, Roshelle Nagar and Rupert Jones; and associates Adrienne Baker, Alice Brogi, Tom Hashagen, Junine Johnson, Eoghan Keenan, Justin Lee, Ellie Marques, Luwisha Neskovic, John Newton, Emma Rubin, Timothy Soldani, Elizabeth Todd, Jennifer Waisberg, Edward Watson and Evgeny Zborovsky.
