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Clifford Chance Advising Hearst on DreamWorks Joint Venture

12 December 2014

Clifford Chance Advising Hearst on DreamWorks Joint Venture

Clifford Chance is advising Hearst Corporation on its all-cash acquisition of a 25 percent interest in AwesomenessTV from DreamWorks Animation. Hearst's interest in AwesomenessTV is valued at $81.25 million.

AwesomenessTV is a next generation multi-platform media company serving the global teen audience. With an average of nearly 800 million monthly views and a subscriber base that now totals over 114 million, AwesomenessTV is one of the Web's biggest multi-channel networks for emerging online talent.  Hearst will work together with DreamWorks — which is retaining a majority of the equity in AwesomenessTV — to help the platform expand into new content channels, broaden its audience and increase its geographic reach. As part of the effort, AwesomenessTV will have access to Hearst’s subscription video on demand technology, which should rapidly accelerate its ability to offer content directly to consumers.

The New York-based Clifford Chance team advising Hearst is being led by corporate partner Ben Sibbett, and includes partner Philip Wagman (tax); counsels Timothy Cornell (antitrust), Daryl Fairbairn (intellectual property) and Rob Stone (ERISA); associates Michele Chebli (corporate), Brian Concklin (antitrust), Joanne Kang (corporate) and Jennifer Saionz (intellectual property); and law clerk Tae Ho Cho (corporate).