Even after AT&T’s $108.7 billion blockbuster deal to purchase Time Warner hit a snag after federal regulators called the transaction anti-competitive — a matter scheduled to be heard in court next month — sector enthusiasm over mergers and acquisitions is at a high point.
Scale is the word of the day for distributors and content creators, and neither side is gathering dust.
While AT&T-Time Warner is still the granddaddy of them all, several smaller deals made their way down the pipeline last year, including Discovery Communications’s $14.6 billion acquisition of Scripps Networks Interactive, TPG Capital’s $2.36 billion purchase of Wave Broadband and Atlantic Broadband’s $1.4 billion purchase of Metrocast. And then in December, The Walt Disney Co. agreed to pay $66.1 billion (including assumed debt) for certain assets of 21st Century Fox.
The Disney-Fox deal appeared to set the tone for the industry. By purchasing Fox’s 20th Century Fox movie and TV production studio, its 22 regional sports networks, cable channels FX, FXX, and National Geographic, a 39% interest in British satellite service Sky and Fox’s 30% interest in streaming service Hulu, Disney threw its hat firmly in the direct-to-consumer ring. Fox, by keeping its broadcast network and stations, Fox News Channel, Fox Business Network, national sports networks FS1, FS2 and Big Ten Network, solidly backed a future that is based on live sports and news.
Whichever side of the scale argument you choose, knowing who and where the top rainmakers are in the media space is becoming more important than ever.
With that in mind, Multichannel News presents the 2018 class of Money All-Stars, including some familiar names who have switched firms over the years and new entrants expected to make a lasting impact.
DAN ALSTER
Title: Managing Director, Leveraged Finance Group, J.P. Morgan
Background: Alster has been active in leveraged finance since joining J.P. Morgan in 2002, helping clients raise capital via syndicated loans and high-yield bonds across a broad range of industries. Located in J.P. Morgan’s San Francisco office, he covers the West Coast, in addition to the TMT space, with focus on the Technology and Entertainment verticals.
He was a vice president in the Restructuring and Capital Advisory Group at Evercore Partners from 2008 to 2010. Prior to joining J.P. Morgan, Alster was an attorney with Naschitz, Brandes & Co. in Tel Aviv, Israel. He also served in the Israeli Air Force in different capacities for seven years, with a most recent role as a captain in the Air Operations Controller Unit.
Alster earned an MBA from Boston University in 2002 and LL.B. in law and B.B. in business from the College of Management in Israel.
Notable Deals: Has advised key clients such as Mediacom Communications; Lions Gate Entertainment; MGM Studios/Legendary; VeriFone, Western Digital, NCR and Sandvine.
GARRETT BAKER
Title: Managing Director and Head of the Telecommunications, Media & Technology group, Lazard Middle Market
Background: Baker has more than 20 years of experience advising on mergers and acquisitions, having generated, led and completed more than 90 transactions with an aggregate value in excess of $18 billion. Baker has deep experience across the TMT industry, including specific expertise with broadband, telecom infrastructure, mobile and digital media companies. Prior to joining Lazard Middle Market, Baker was president of Waller Capital Partners, where he led mergers and acquisitions for cable, telecom and digital media clients and oversaw day-to-day operations of the firm. He joined Waller Capital Partners in 1998 and was named president in 2009. He began his career as a mergers and acquisitions banker at Bear Stearns & Co.
He is also a member of the Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO). Baker received a bachelor of science degree in analytical finance and graduated with honors from Wake Forest University.
Notable Deals: Special committee of the board of directors of General Communication Inc. on its pending sale to Liberty Interactive; NewWave/RBI on its sale to Cable One; Wave Broadband on its sale to Oak Hill Capital Partners and GI Partners; iStreamPlanet on its sale to Time Warner’s Turner; GTCR on its acquisitions of NewWave and Cable Management Associates; ZDirect on its sale to TravelClick; RCN and Grande Communications on their sales to ABRY Partners; Enventis on its stock-for-stock merger with Consolidated Communications; Comcast on its sale of noncore assets to FirstComm; Baja Broadband on its sale to TDS; advised Wave Broadband on its sale to Oak Hill Capital and GI Partners. (Certain transactions completed prior to joining the firm.)
ARYEH BOURKOFF
Title: Co-founder and CEO, LionTree LLC
Background: Bourkoff founded LionTree in mid-2012 with former UBS colleague Ehren Stenzler after serving as head of all of UBS’s investment banking operations in the Americas. Before that, he was vice chairman of UBS Technology’s media and telecom investment banking, a job he took in 2010. Earlier, he headed the media and communications research group, specializing in the cable/satellite and entertainment sectors. Before joining UBS, Bourkoff was a senior cable and telecommunications highyield research analyst at CIBC World Markets. He was also a member of the high-yield research group at Smith Barney.
Notable Deals: Charter Communications’s $80 billion purchase of Time Warner Cable; Charter’s $10 billion purchase of Bright House Networks; Liberty Global’s $23.3 billion purchase of Virgin Media; Verizon Communications’s $4.4 billion acquisition of AOL; helped raise $15 million for streaming service FuboTV; advised Snap Inc. on its initial public offering.
BLAIR EFFRON
Title: Co-Founder and Partner, Centerview Partners
Background: Effron co-founded Centerview in 2006. The firm has advised on more than $1 trillion of transactions since its establishment. Effron began his career at Dillon Read, where he for worked 10 years before it was merged into several successor firms that became UBS. While at UBS, Effron was among the most senior bankers in the organization. He was group vice chairman of UBS AG and a member of the board of UBS Investment Bank, where he also sat on several management committees. In his 25-yearplus career, Effron has advised Fortune 500 and multinational companies across a range of sectors including in the consumer and retail, general industrial, healthcare and media sectors.
Notable Deals: 21st Century Fox’s pending sale of content assets to The Walt Disney Co. for $66.1 billion, including debt; advisers to Time Warner Cable in its $80 billion sale to Charter Communications; GE’s $18 billion sale of its remaining 49% interest in NBCUniversal to Comcast; News Corp.’s $6 billion acquisition of Dow Jones, the $9 billion spinoff of its publishing assets and its acquisitions of Shine Media and Harlequin Enterprises (pending).
ERIC FEDERMAN
Title: Head of Media and Telecom Banking, Credit Suisse
Background: Federman’s coverage responsibility includes the U.S. cable TV sector, the U.S. motion-picture exhibitor sector and several other diversified media companies. He joined Credit Suisse in 2003 after spending 11 years at Merrill Lynch in the Global Media Group. He has advised and financed clients in the cable and pay TV industry for 20 years.
Notable Deals: Credit Suisse served as lead joint book-running manager of WideOpenWest’s $310 million initial public offering and advised Lionsgate in its $4.4 billion purchase of Starz. Other advisory transactions in the cable sector have included the sale of Bresnan Communications to Cablevision Systems; Knology’s acquisition of PrairieWave; the sale of WideOpenWest to Avista Capital Partners; and Comcast’s acquisition of AT&T Broadband. Recent lead-left financing transactions in the cable sector have included transactions for Charter Communications, Atlantic Broadband, Knology and WideOpenWest.
JONATHAN FRIESEL
Title: Managing Partner, Co-Founder, Twin Point Capital
Background: Friesel co-founded Twin Point in September 2015, after a 17-year career at Oak Hill Capital. As the managing partner of Twin Point, he has senior managerial responsibility for the firm’s investment activities and operations.
Prior to Twin Point, Friesel was a partner at Oak Hill Capital, where he was a member of the investment committee and held senior leadership responsibilities for the firm’s Media & Communications and Services investment groups. He also served on the firm’s operations, compliance and ESG committees.
He currently serves on the boards of TPC Broadband Holdings and Flix Entertainment, both portfolio companies of Twin Point. He is also a member of the Advisory Council for The Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management at Cornell University.
Notable Deals: Atlantic Broadband (sold to Cogeco in 2012); Local TV Holdings (sold to Tribune in 2013); Security Networks (sold to Ascent Capital in 2013); Wave Division Holdings (sold to TPG and RCN in 2017); and WOW! Internet, Cable and Phone (sold to Avista Capital in 2005). Prior to Oak Hill, Friesel worked at Lehman Brothers Holdings in its Media & Telecommunications group. He earned a bachelor of sciences degree from Cornell University.
GREGG LEMKAU
Title: Co-head of the Investment Banking Division, Goldman Sachs
Background: Lemkau is a member of the management committee and IBD executive committee. He has advised on hundreds of transactions during his career at Goldman Sachs and has spent significant time with clients in health care, technology, media and telecom globally, while working in offices in Europe and the United States. Previously, he was co-head of Global Mergers & Acquisitions. Before that, he was head of Mergers & Acquisitions for EMEA and Asia Pacific. Prior to that, he was global co-head of the Technology, Media and Telecom Group and served as chief operating officer for the Investment Banking Division. Earlier in his career, he was global co-head of Healthcare Investment Banking and co-head of High Technology Mergers & Acquisitions. He served as chairman of the Firmwide Commitments Committee from 2011 to 2015. Lemkau joined Goldman Sachs as an analyst in Mergers & Acquisitions in 1992 and was named managing director in 2001 and partner in 2002. Lemkau serves as chairman of the board of directors for Grassroot Soccer, a non-profit organization using the power of soccer to fight against HIV and AIDS in Africa. He also serves as chairman of Friends of Dartmouth Soccer and is vice chairman of the Dartmouth Athletics Advisory Board. He serves on the board of advisors for Team Rubicon, a non-profit organization whose mission is to unite the skills and experiences of military veterans with first responders to rapidly deploy emergency response teams. He also serves on the board of trustees of St. Luke’s School in New Canaan, Conn. He earned a B.A. in Government and Economics from Dartmouth College in 1991.
Notable Deals: Softbank investment into Uber (advised Uber Board); sale of Formula One to Liberty Media; sale of DirecTV to AT&T (advised DirecTV); Spotify sale of stake to Tencent (advised Spotify); sale of Yahoo to Verizon (advised Yahoo); Discovery’s acquisition of Scripps Networks Interactive (advised Discovery); WME’s acquisition of UFC (advised WME).
NAVID MAHMOODZADEGAN
Title: Co-President, Moelis & Co.
Background: Before Moelis & Co., Mahmoodzadegan was most recently the Global Head of Media Investment Banking at UBS and a member of the UBS Investment Banking Department Americas Executive Committee. He was previously an investment banker at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette. His expertise is rooted in a deep understanding of the broadcasting, cable, publishing, entertainment, satellite and digital media sectors, significant experience working with financial sponsors and broad knowledge of all aspects of capital structure. He serves on the Carlthorp School Board of Trustees and the National Board of Directors of Jumpstart. Mahmoodzadegan holds an A.B. from the University of Michigan (Phi Beta Kappa) and a J.D. from Harvard Law School (magna cum laude).
Notable Deals: Tribune Media’s $6.6 billion sale to Sinclair Broadcast Group; Blackstone Group’s acquisition of SESAC Holdings; iflix’s $133 million private funding; iHeartMedia’s $550 million refinancing of its ABL facility; and Eldridge Industries’s creation of Valence Media.
PAUL TAUBMAN
Title: Founding chairman and CEO, PJT Partners
Background: Taubman founded PJT Partners in early 2013 and, in October 2014, announced the intention to merge into the spun off Blackstone advisory businesses. The newly combined company was formed and began trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Oct. 1, 2015. Prior to founding PJT Partners, Taubman spent almost 30 years at Morgan Stanley in a series of increasingly significant leadership positions including co-president of Institutional Securities. After retiring from Morgan Stanley in 2012, he served in an independent capacity to advise companies on a number of significant transactions before starting PJT Partners. Taubman received a B.S. in Economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business. He is involved in numerous philanthropic activities including serving as board president of New York Cares, a trustee and executive committee member of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, a national advisory board member of Youth INC and a trustee of the Foundation for Educating Children with Autism.
Notable Deals: Served as financial adviser to Cablevision Systems in its $17.7 billion sale to Altice N.V.; advised Yahoo on its $4.8 billion sale to Verizon Communications; advised Lionsgate in its $4.4 billion purchase of Starz; adviser to Comcast in its $3.8 billion purchase of Dreamworks Animation; advised TPG Capital in its $2.25 billion purchase of RCN/Grande Communications; and advised Verizon Communications in its $2.4 billion purchase of Fleetmatics.
DAVID TRUJILLO
Title: Partner, TPG Capital, TPG Growth
Background: As a Partner of TPG, Trujillo leads the private equity firm’s internet, digital media and communications investing efforts across TPG Capital and TPG Growth. Prior to joining TPG in 2006, Trujillo was with GTCR, a Chicago based private-equity fund, from 1998 through 2005. He is currently a director of AXS (in partnership with AEG), Cirque du Soleil, Creative Artists Agency (CAA), Ipsy, RCN and Grande Communications (which recently acquired Wave Broadband), RentPath, Uber, Univision Communications and Vice Media. Trujillo led TPG’s growth investments in Airbnb, Spotify and Uber, as well as its historic credit investments in Citadel Broadcasting and Clear Channel. Trujillo previously served on the boards of Layer3 TV (sold to T-Mobile in 2018), Lynda.com (sold to LinkedIn in 2015), Fenwal Therapeutics (sold to Fresenius SE in 2012), HSM Electronic Protection (sold to Stanley Works in 2007), Sorenson Communications and Triad Financial (sold to Santander in 2010). Trujillo received a B.A. in Economics from Yale University and an M.B.A. from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Notable Deals: Airbnb, CAA, Cirque du Soleil, Layer3TV, RCN Communications-Grande Communications-Wave Broadband, Spotify, Uber, Univision and Vice Media.
