Business publication Crain’s recently profiled Baker Hostetler for its role in an award-winning transaction. E.W. Scripps Co.—a media company with significant holdings in newspaper publishing, broadcast television stations and licensing and syndication—and the firm received the honor of “Middle-Market Deal of the Year (From $100 million to $250 million)” at the annual M&A Advisor Awards Gala held in New York City.
The award was given for the sale of Character Licensing, a subsidiary of Scripps responsible for the licensing of the Peanuts characters, Dilbert, Fancy Nancy and others, to the Iconix Brand Group and family members of the late Charles Schulz. This deal also received a finalist nomination in the “Media, Entertainment or Telecom ($500 million and less)” category.
“The competitive nature of this transaction, along with the aggressive timeline, posed significant challenges to completing the deal,” said Steven Goldberg, partner and co-chair of Baker Hostetler’s Transactions team. “Being recognized by the M&A Advisor, a prominent industry organization, underscores the increased profile of our global M&A practice, in particular in advising on middle-market transactions.”