Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer and Freshfields have taken lead roles on Sky’s acquisition of ITV Media & Entertainment, in a £1.6bn deal that will see Sky take full ownership of ITV’s broadcasting and streaming arm.
HSF Kramer is acting for Sky, with a London-based team including M&A partner Mark Bardell and Hayley Brady, who heads the firm’s media and digital practice in London. Competition partners Stephen Wisking, André Pretorius and Vassilena Karadakova also advised on the deal.
The firm has worked for Sky before, including advising the broadcaster on its 2018 sale of a 20% stake in its gambling business Sky Betting & Gambling to Canadian online gaming company The Stars Group for £1.2bn, with Bardell and Pretorius also on the team.
Freshfields is advising ITV, with a team led by chair of the firm’s board and corporate partner Piers Prichard Jones and M&A partner Kate Cooper, both based in London.
The firm’s team also included antitrust partners Colin Raftery in London and Martin McElwee, based across London and Brussels, as well as global head of IP/data Giles Pratt and IP partner Zofia Aszendorf, employment partner Alice Greenwell, pensions partners Dawn Heath and Andrew Murphy, and tax partner Paul Davison, all of whom are based in London.
The UK-headquartered firm has previously advised Sky, including on its 2018 sale to Comcast for £22bn, completed after a public bidding war between the US giant and rival 21st Century Fox. The firm’s team on that deal also included Cooper, who was a senior associate at the time.
Legacy Herbert Smith Freehills was also involved earlier in the process, acting as the original advisers to Sky when Fox made its bid in 2016. On the final deal, Davis Polk acted for Comcast. The US firm also took the lead on Comcast’s spinoff of Sky and NBCUniversal last week.
The total consideration for Sky’s acquisition of ITV Media & Entertainment includes £1.2bn in cash, up to £0.2bn in performance-related earnout, and production company Love Productions, which makes shows including The Great British Bake Off. Love Productions will be sold as part of the deal to ITV Studios – ITV’s production arm, which will remain separate.
