O’Melveny has advised CJ ENM, a Korean entertainment company, on its acquisition of an 80 per cent stake in the scripted business of US-based global premium content studio, Endeavor Content, from its parent company Endeavor Group Holdings for an enterprise valuation of USD850 million.
The transaction was announced on November 18 and is expected to close early in the first quarter of 2022.
Headquartered in Seoul, Korea, CJ ENM is best known for its recent multiple Academy Award-winning film Parasite. CJ ENM’s entertainment division engages in a wide array of businesses across the industry spectrum, including media content, music, film, performing arts, and animation. This acquisition is the largest M&A for CJ ENM, which first invested in DreamWorks and jumped into the content business 26 years ago.
Based in Beverly Hills, California and launched in 2017, Endeavor Content is a production advisory, sales, and distribution studio that has owned, financed, and/or sold more than 125 films and television series that have garnered more than 69 Emmy wins and nominations and 59 Academy Award wins and nominations.
The O’Melveny team advising CJ ENM is led by Korea Corporate Practice Head Daniel Kim, Entertainment, Sports & Media Group Co-Head Amy Siegel, partner Silvia Vannini, counsel Rob Catmull and Zach Greenberg, and associate Hae-in Park, with partner Robert Fisher and counsel Billy Abbott advising on tax issues.
O’Melveny has been synonymous with entertainment law since Hollywood’s Golden Age of the 1930s. The firm has repeatedly helped major players in film, television, digital media, production and distribution, gaming, music, and finance forge groundbreaking deals and resolve high-profile disputes. As shifting financial models and technological advances transform today’s entertainment and media business, O’Melveny remains a firm of choice for industry leaders.
