On July 23, 2012, DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc. (Nasdaq: DWA) announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Classic Media, owner of one of the most extensive portfolios featuring many of the best-known and most-enduring franchises in all of family entertainment, for $155 million in cash from Boomerang Media Holdings I LLC, a portfolio company of Chicago-based private equity firm GTCR. Cravath represented DreamWorks Animation in this transaction. With well-established titles such as Casper the Friendly Ghost, Where’s Waldo?, Lassie, The Lone Ranger, George of the Jungle and Rocky & Bullwinkle, Classic Media’s properties have been a fixture in mainstream entertainment for decades. The transaction is expected to be completed during the third quarter of 2012.
The Cravath team included partners Faiza J. Saeed and Eric L. Schiele and associate Jose R. Coleman Tio on corporate matters; partners Michael L. Schler and Jennifer S. Conway and associates Nicole F. Foster and Michelle M. Garrett on executive compensation and benefits matters; and partner Stephen L. Gordon and associates Joanne J. Lee and Jarrett R. Hoffman on tax matters. James J. Desjardins and summer associate Jennifer Uren also worked on corporate matters.
