Arent Fox Advises Sports Ventures in $1.7 Billion SPAC Transaction With DNEG

At closing, the combined company will be renamed DNEG and it is expected that its ordinary shares will be listed on the Nasdaq. Through a partnership with Sports Ventures, DNEG is positioned to become a global media powerhouse with its fast-growing visual effects and animation businesses, and significant opportunity to expand into new geographic markets and business segments such as gaming and content creation. The transaction implies a combined company enterprise value of approximately $1.7 billion.  The closing, expected to occur in late Q2, is subject to shareholder approval and other customary closing conditions.

The Arent Fox team representing Sports Ventures is led by Corporate & Securities Partner Tal M. Unrad, Counsel Jeffrey E. Jordan and Partners Michael L. Andresino and William D’Angelo, III. Given the nature of DNEG’s business, a diverse group from across the firm’s corporate, public securities, tax, finance, employee benefits, intellectual property, digital privacy, real estate, and corporate practices were involved in advising the client. The rest of the Arent Fox team included Jonathan P. Bagg, Matthew Berlin, Wilburn L. Chesser, William R. Charyk, Stephen P. Hanson, Julia B. Jacobson, Quana Jew, Jeffrey B. Tate, Jivesh Khemlani, Rita Y. Liu, Samantha Overly Madeline Roe, Steven Saracco, and Felicia A. Xu.

Arent Fox worked closely with its foreign legal partners in the Cayman Islands, the UK, India, Canada, and the Netherlands. The team also worked collaboratively with DNEG’s counsel at Latham Watkins to sign and announce the combination on January 25, 2022.