Silvia Vannini

Silvia Vannini advises public and private companies on mergers and acquisitions, securities, and general corporate matters, including corporate governance, both in and out of the entertainment industry. She regularly represents private equity funds, domestic and foreign companies, motion picture studios, television networks as well as entrepreneurial clients on a wide range of corporate transactions, including company formation and structuring, acquisitions, partnerships, joint ventures, strategic alliances, financings, and dispositions.

Prior to joining O’Melveny, Silvia worked as a corporate associate in the Los Angeles and Hong Kong offices of Skadden Arps. In addition to her native Italian, she speaks fluent French and is conversant in German and Spanish.

Silvia received her J.D. from the University of Michigan where she was on Law Review. She also has a Ph.D. from the University of Bologna.

Experience:

• Representative Entertainment Industry Transactions:
  • Represented Starz Play in establishing a strategic alliance with E-Vision, a wholly-owned subsidiary of multinational Emirati based telecommunications company Etisalat
  • Represented Lionsgate in the sale of its stake in premium pay television network EPIX to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
  • Represented Good Universe in the negotiation of its sale to Lionsgate
  • Represented Imagine Entertainment in the formation of a TV co-financing venture with TVB Venture Investment, LLC, a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB)
  • Represented Warner Bros. in acquisition of Machinima, a video entertainment network for gamers
  • Represented DMG Entertainment in definitive agreement to purchase Eastern Broadcasting Company
  • Represented Revolution Studios in its acquisition of several pictures from Tango Films
  • Represented Revolution Studios in in its acquisition of the movie library of Cold Spring Pictures from an affiliate of Lone Star Capital
  • Represented Starz Entertainment in international joint venture for creation of an OTT over-the-top) entertainment platform launched as “Starz Play” in the Middle East and North Africa
  • Represented Metro Goldwyn Mayer Inc. in the acquisition of a majority interest in Mark Burnett’s One Three Media and LightWorkers Media, to be consolidated into new media venture United Artists Media Group
  • Represented Legendary Entertainment in the $350 million equity investment bySoftBank Corp. and other existing investors, with an option for an additional $750 million investment over the next several years
  • Represented Legendary Entertainment in its acquisition of Asylum
  • Entertainment, an Emmy Award-winning television production company
  • Represented British Sky Broadcasting Group in its acquisition of a majority stake in ZJTV LLC, a recently formed non-scripted television production company
  • Represented FilmDistrict in numerous corporate transactions including its strategic transaction with Focus Features
  • Represented David Goldberg in the launch of Banijay Studios North America, a
  • Los Angeles-based television production company, in partnership with Banijay Group
  • Represented Activision, Inc. in its $18.9 billion business combination with Vivendi Games
  • Represented several independent production companies in their structuring and capital raising from private equity and other investors
  • Represented private equity investors, venture funds, entertainment and media companies and individual investors in their entertainment and media investments
• Other Representative Transactions:
  • Represented Clarity Partners affiliated entity in sale of assets to Peak Oil Holdings
  • Represented NASDAQ-listed Electronics for Imaging, Inc., an international company based in Silicon Valley that specializes in printing technology, in its acquisition of Italy-based Reggiani Macchine SPA and California-based Corrugated Technologies, Inc.
  • Represented H&Q Korea, a Seoul-based private equity firm, in its acquisition of a 49% stake in the South Korean subsidiary of Monster Worldwide
  • Represented JAKKS Pacific, Inc., a multi-line and multi-brand toy company, in its defense against a hostile take-over
  • Represented Nationwide Health Properties, Inc., a leading seniors housing and healthcare real estate investment trust, in its merger with Ventas, Inc. in a stock-for-stock transaction valued at $7.6 billion

Admissions:

• California

Education:

• University of Michigan Law, J.D.: cum laude; Notes Editor, Michigan Law Review
• University of Bologna, Ph.D., Philosophy: highest distinction
• University of Bologna, B.A., Philosophy: summa cum laude