David M Hernand

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David M Hernand

Partner, Corporate Department

Century City

T 1(310) 620-5750

F 1(310) 620-5850

Los Angeles

T 1(213) 683-6200

davidhernand@paulhastings.com

David M. Hernand is a partner in the Mergers and Acquisitions practice at Paul Hastings, based in and Chair of the firm's Century City office, and Vice Chair of the firm's global Corporate Department.

Mr. Hernand is a leading lawyer in M&A and investments across many industries, but with particular emphasis in in media, entertainment and technology. His practice includes advising companies, board of directors, special committees, investment banks, private equity and venture capital firms, and high net-worth individuals and families in public and private merger and acquisition transactions (including cross-border and distressed M&A transactions), corporate control contests, strategic partnering arrangements, public and private capital raising transactions, and general company representation matters.

He has been recognized as one of the top 100 Lawyers in California by the Daily Journal, a leading lawyer in M&A and venture capital by industry publications such as Chambers USA, Super Lawyers Magazine, and Legal 500, and as a “Power Lawyer” by The Hollywood Reporter, and one of the best lawyers in the entertainment industry by Variety.

Much of Mr. Hernand’s practice involves working with companies at the intersection of entertainment/media and technology. His past and current entertainment/media sector clients include Adaptive Studios, China Media Capital, Club Penguin, Collective Digital Studios, dick clark productions, DigiTour Media, DIRECTV, DreamWorks Animation, Eldridge Industries, FilmTrack, GameMine, GF Capital, Idealab, Machinima, Playdom, Saban Capital, Screambox, Shamrock Capital, Shaquille O'Neal, SK Telecom, Sony Entertainment, Snapchat, Style Haul, The Raine Group, United Talent Agency, Universal Music Group, Viacom, Wiredrive, William Morris and The Young Turks.

In the technology sector more broadly, Mr. Hernand has been involved in many of the most significant technology company M&A and investment transactions in Southern California in recent years, including transactions involving AutoAnything, Business.com, Collective Digital Studio, DemandMedia, HauteLook, Homestore, IGE, Intermix (MySpace), LegalZoom, LowerMyBills, Oversee, PriceGrabber, Playdom, ProvideCommerce, ReachLocal, Rent.com, SeeBeyond, Swagbucks, TeleSign, The Honest Company, and The Rubicon Project.

Experience

Mr. Hernand’s M&A-related experience includes:

Cutler Media's sale of Parcast to Spotify (representing Cutler Media)
Viacom's acquisition of Pluto TV for $340 million (representing Viacom)
Sale of substantial stake of Dole Food Company to Total Produce at enterprise value of approximately $2 billion (representing Dole Food Company)
Cineworld's $3.6 billion acquisition of Regal Cinema (representing Morgan Stanley)
Sale of Draft to Paddy Power Bet Fair (representing Draft)
Sale of Dick Clark Productions to Dalian Wanda Group for approximately US$1 billlion (representing Dick Clark Productions)
Nuance Communications US$215 million acquisition of TouchCommerce (representing TouchCommerce)
Investments by Hearst and Verizon in AwesomenessTV (representing DreamWorks Animation) and related content production agreements
China Media Capital's joint venture with Warner Brothers to establish a new movie studio (representing China Media Capital)
Collective Digital Studio’s US$240 million merger with Prosieben’s Studio71 (representing Collective Digital Studio)
Fosun International’s US$1.4 billion acquisition with TPG of Cirque du Soleil (representing Fosun)
Shaquille O'Neal's sale of rights to Authentic Brands Group
Sale of PriceGrabber to Connexity (representing CPL Holdings)
Nordstrom’s US$350 million acquisition of TrunkClub (representing Nordstrom)
Billabong’s disposition of Swell.com (representing Billabong)
Niagara Bottling’s acquisition of Advanced Refreshment (representing Niagara)
DreamWorks Animation’s US$150 million acquisition of AwesomenessTV and separate acquisition of Big Frame (representing DreamWorks Animation)
Management buy-out of Classes USA, PriceGrabber, and LowerMyBills from Experian Interactive (representing management)
Madison Tyler Holdings’ combination with Virtu Financial and investment by Silver Lake Partners (representing MTH management)
SK Telecom’s preferred stock investment in Viki.com (representing SK Telecom)
Nordstrom’s US$270 million acquisition of HauteLook (representing Nordstrom)
ABB’s US$3.1 billion acquisition of Baldor Electric (representing Baldor)
Disney’s US$763 million acquisition of Playdom (representing Playdom)
Shamrock Capital’s acquisition of Screenvision (representing Shamrock)
Saban Capital’s acquisition of Paul Frank Industries (representing Saban Capital)
EBay’s sale of 65% of Skype to a private equity consortium (representing Goldman Sachs)
Microsoft’s unsolicited US$44.6 billion offer to acquire Yahoo (representing Goldman Sachs and Lehman Brothers)
Merger of William Morris and Endeavor (representing William Morris’ board of directors)
Odyssey Investment Partners’ acquisitions of EAG, SM&A and Wencor (representing Odyssey)
URS Corporation’s US$2.6 billion acquisition of Washington Group (representing URS)
US$3.4 billion merger of Molson and Coors (representing Morgan Stanley)
Sale of Club Penguin to Disney for US$700 million (representing Club Penguin)

Mr. Hernand’s capital raising-related experience includes:

DigiTour Media's $10 million preferred stock financing led by Viacom (representing DigiTour)
GF Capital’s investment in Whalerock Industries (representing GF Capital)
Prodege, LLC (aka Swagbucks) $60 million capital raise led by Technology Crossover Ventures (representing Prodege)
TeleSign’s $40 million preferred stock financing led by March Capital (representing March Capital)
DealerTrack’s sale of $80 million of capital stock of TrueCar (representing private investors)
The Honest Company’s sale of $52 million of preferred stock to General Catalyst, IVP, Lightspeed, and Iconiq (representing The Honest Company)
FilmTrack’s $20 million capital raise led by Insight Ventures and acquisition of Dashbox (representing FilmTrack)
StyleHaul’s $12.5 million preferred stock financing led by Bertelsmann and RTL Group (representing Style Haul)
Machinima’s sale of $50+ million of preferred stock and convertible notes to Google Ventures, Redpoint, and other investors (representing Machinima)
Telly’s $8.5 million preferred stock financing led by Nasser Al-Sabah (representing Nasser Al-Sabah)
SimpleTV’s $5.7 million preferred stock financing led by Pritzker Group Venture Capital (representing Pritzker Group)

Accolades and Recognitions

Recognized as one of Top 100 Lawyers in California by the Daily Journal
Recognized as a leader in California in Corporate/M&A – Venture Capital, Chambers USA, 2013 and prior years
Recognized as a top-rated attorney in the nation and a "Super Lawyer" in M&A, Super Lawyers Magazine, 2005 - 2010, 2012 - 2013, 2016 - 2019
Recognized among leaders in M&A and Buyouts – M&A: Large Deals and Mergers and Acquisitions and Buyouts – M&A: Venture Capital and Emerging Companies, The Legal 500: United States 2013 Edition
Recognized as a top 100 "Power Lawyer" by The Hollywood Reporter, 2014, 2016-2017, 2019
Recognized in Variety's “Legal Impact Report” , 2016 -2019
Recognized as a leader in America's Leading Lawyers for Business, Corporate/ M&A, Chambers USA, 2019
Recognized as Hollywood's Top 20 Dealmakers by The Hollywood Reporter, 2016

Professional and Community Involvement

Mr. Hernand previously was a managing director of Idealab, a Pasadena, California-based technology company incubator, and the founding CEO of New.net, an Idealab portfolio company.
Past Co-Chair of the Corporations Committee of the Business Law Section of the California State Bar
Member of the Mergers and Acquisitions Committee of the Business Law Section of the American Bar Association
Serves on the board of The Painted Turtle (charity operating a summer camp for chronically ill kids)
Member of the Steering Committee for the Socrates Program of the Aspen Institute

Education

Georgetown University Law Center, J.D., 1992
University of California, Los Angeles, B.A., 1989

Rankings & Awards

Recognized by Chambers USA 2019
Chambers USA 2019: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business listed the firm in 44 practice areas and named 107 firm lawyers to its rankings of leading lawyers and law firms in the United States.
April 26, 2019

Recognized in Variety's 2019 Legal Impact Report
The Firm’s Century City-based Entertainment and Media practice was recognized in Variety's 2019 Legal Impact Report. The magazine’s annual list spotlights the top in-house attorneys, litigators, and transactional lawyers in the entertainment business. Paul Hastings partners noted for 2019 include Craig Emanuel, David Hernand, Erik Hyman, Mickey Mayerson, Stephen Saltzman, and Susan Williams.
April 09, 2019

Recognized in The Hollywood Reporter's Power Lawyers 2019
The firm’s Century City Entertainment and Media practice was recognized in The Hollywood Reporter's Power Lawyers series. The magazine’s annual list spotlights the top in-house attorneys, litigators, and transactional lawyers in the entertainment business. Paul Hastings partners noted for 2019 include Craig Emanuel, David Hernand, and Susan Williams.
March 28, 2019

Recognized in Variety's 2018 Dealmakers Impact Report
The firm’s Century City-based Entertainment and Media practice was recognized in Variety's 2018 Dealmakers Impact Report. The magazine’s annual list noted the team's comprehensive practice working in M&A, finance and capital-raising, and talent representing entertainment as well as tech clients. Paul Hastings partners noted for 2018 include Craig Emanuel, David Hernand, Erik Hyman, Mickey Mayerson, Stephen Saltzman, and Susan Williams.
December 07, 2018

Recognized in Variety's 2018 Legal Impact Report
The Firm’s Century City-based Entertainment and Media practice was recognized in Variety's 2018 Legal Impact Report. The magazine’s annual list spotlights the top in-house attorneys, litigators, and transactional lawyers in the entertainment business. Paul Hastings partners noted for 2018 include Craig Emanuel, David Hernand, Erik Hyman, Mickey Mayerson, Stephen Saltzman, and Susan Williams.
April 18, 2018

Recognized by Chambers USA 2017
Chambers USA 2017: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business named 46 of the firm’s practice areas and 112 individuals to its ranking of leading lawyers and law firms in the United States.
June 05, 2017

The Hollywood Reporter Power Lawyers for 2017
David Hernand was recognized in The Hollywood Reporter's Power Lawyers 2017: Hollywood's Top 100 Attorneys list for his work on some of the year's most significant entertainment transactions, including his representation of the lead investor in Jeffrey Katzenberg's new fund, WndrCo, which is expected to close at $750 million, as well as his 2016 representation of Dick Clark Productions, which Dalian Wanda sought to acquire for $1 billion.
April 26, 2017

Recognized in Variety's 2017 Legal Impact Report
David Hernand was named in Variety's "2017 Legal Impact Report" for his work representing Germany’s TeleMunchen Group purchase of a stake in Storied Media, Dick Clark Productions attempted $1 billion sale agreement to Wanda, and DreamWorks Animation in its sale of a 24.5% stake in AwesomenessTV.
April 04, 2017

Recognized among the Daily Journal's Top 100 Lawyers in California
Mergers and Acquisitions partner David Hernand was named by Daily Journal as one of the Top 100 Lawyers in California. David was recognized for successfully facilitating numerous high-profile deals for clients such as China Media Capital, DreamWorks Animation SKG, and Shaquille O’Neal.
September 20, 2016

Recognized by Chambers USA 2016
Chambers USA 2016: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business named 47 of the firm’s practice areas and 112 individuals to its ranking of leading lawyers and law firms in the United States.
June 08, 2016

The Hollywood Reporter Power Lawyers 2016
David Hernand was recognized in The Hollywood Reporter's Power Lawyers 2016: Hollywood's Top 100 Attorneys list for his work on some of the year's most significant entertainment transactions, such as Fosun Group’s acquisition of Cirque du Soleil, China Media Capital’s joint venture with Warner Bros., and DreamWorks Animation's sale of a 24.5% equity stake of AwesomenessTV to Verizon Communications.
April 20, 2016

Recognized in Variety's 2016 Legal Impact Report
David Hernand was recognized in Variety's 2016 Legal Impact Report for his work on some of the year's most significant entertainment transactions, such as Fosun Group’s acquisition of Cirque du Soleil, China Media Capital’s joint venture with Warner Bros., and DreamWorks Animation's sale of a 24.5% equity stake of AwesomenessTV to Verizon Communications.
April 17, 2016

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