Robert J. Sherman

Partner

Co-Chair, Entertainment Finance Practice

Emailrobert.j.sherman@us.dlapiper.com

Call+1 310 595 3120

Los Angeles

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 AKD Partners'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.

Areas of FocusCorporate Financial Services Media, Sport and Entertainment Finance

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 US$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 US$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