Brian T. Smith

Brian Smith is a corporate associate in the Los Angeles office of Gibson Dunn. Before becoming an attorney, Brian worked as a producer and executive in film, television and Broadway theater, and received the 2013 Tony Award for Best Musical as a producer of Kinky Boots.

Brian primarily advises strategic buyers and private equity clients with respect to entertainment matters on mergers, acquisitions and sales of production companies, content studios, media organizations and IP assets across film, television, music, podcasts, publications, sports, live events and stage productions around the world. He has particular experience with the commercial agreements at the center of these deals, including development, production, financing, distribution, licensing and talent agreements. Brian also counsels clients involved in entertainment-related disputes, including with respect to profit participation and copyright matters, and has drafted and negotiated complex settlement agreements in both individual actions and class actions.

Outside the entertainment and media space, Brian regularly represents private companies and private equity firms in mergers and acquisitions, asset purchases and sales, series-round financings and corporate governance matters. He maintains an active pro bono practice advising non-profit arts organizations, theaters, film festivals and documentary filmmakers on individual projects as well as corporate and organizational matters.

Brian received his J.D. from UCLA School of Law, where he served as Managing Editor of the UCLA Law Review and advised filmmakers through the Documentary Film Legal Clinic. Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, Brian was an associate at another major global law firm with a focus on mergers and acquisitions and joint ventures involving entertainment companies and talent representation.

Representative Experience:

Entertainment, Media and Sports

• RedBird Capital Partners and RedBird IMI, with respect to entertainment and media matters, in a number of significant transactions, including:
  • The merger of All3Media with Banijay Entertainment, valuing the combined business at approximately $8 billion and creating the world’s largest independent television production company.
  • RedBird IMI’s $1.45 billion acquisition of All3Media.
  • RedBird IMI’s investment in scripted production studio Media Res.
  • RedBird Capital Partners’ investment in Hidden Pigeon Company, a joint venture with children’s book author Mo Willems.
• *Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount Global in their sale of a majority stake in The CW broadcast network to Nexstar Media Group.
• The SpringHill Company, the entertainment company founded by LeBron James and Maverick Carter, in its merger with Fulwell 73 and the concurrent investment in the combined business, known as Fulwell Entertainment.
• Lupa Systems, James Murdoch’s media and technology holding company, on entertainment aspects of:
  • The formation of Futurific Studios, the production company co-founded by Kathryn Murdoch and Ari Wallach, and its production of the PBS documentary series A Brief History of the Future.
  • Its reported $300 million acquisition of New York Magazine, the Vox Media Podcast Network and Vox from Vox Media.
• *HYBE (formerly Big Hit Entertainment) in its reported $1 billion acquisition of Ithaca Holdings, a diversified media company founded by Scooter Braun.
• *Fox Entertainment in its acquisition of MarVista Entertainment, a leading independent producer and worldwide distributor of television movies, for over $100 million.
• Universal Pictures in its investments and partnerships with Amblin Partners.
• Main Street Advisors and its portfolio company NTWRK, a digital media and commerce company, in several transactions including NTWRK’s acquisition of Complex Networks from BuzzFeed and Universal Music Group’s investment in NTWRK.
• An international film studio in a talent profit participation dispute and settlement relating to a film that earned over $100 million in box office receipts.
• A major record label in a class action dispute with respect to copyright issues in sound recordings.
• SC Holdings in the merger of Major League Pickleball and the Professional Pickleball Association Tour and SC’s concurrent investment in the combined company.

Private Equity and Corporate

• Veritas Capital, in a number of transactions, including:
  • Its portfolio company Frontgrade Technologies’ acquisition of Aethercomm, an aerospace and defense designer and manufacturer.
  • Its $2.45 billion acquisition of the digital banking business of NCR Voyix, since rebranded as Candescent.
• Endurance Partners in the sale of a majority stake in Westwood Professional Services, an engineering and design firm serving renewables, power and public infrastructure markets, to Blackstone.
• Shore Rock Partners in its acquisition of a majority stake in AMAG Technology, a provider of unified security and access control solutions, from Allied Universal.
• L Squared Capital Partners in the formation of LSCP BTX CV, a single-asset continuation fund for BTX Precision, a high-precision manufacturer of mission-critical components.
• Sumeru Equity Partners and its portfolio company Q4 Inc. in Q4’s acquisition of Virtua Research, a provider of consensus analytics and financial modeling solutions.
• *The Agency, a California-based global luxury real estate brokerage, in its acquisition of Triplemint, a New York-based online real estate brokerage.
• *The controlling stockholder of Dole Food Company in the merger of Dole with Total Produce and the concurrent initial public offering of the combined company on the New York Stock Exchange, with an approximate value of $2 billion.

Representative Pro Bono Clients

Williamstown Theatre Festival, Playwrights Horizons, Los Angeles Ballet, San Quentin Film Festival, The Clooney Foundation for Justice.

* Representations prior to Brian's association with Gibson Dunn.

Capabilities

• Media, Entertainment, and Technology
• Intellectual Property
• Mergers and Acquisitions
• Private Equity
• Royalty Finance
• Sports Law

Credentials

Education:

• University of California, Los Angeles - 2020 Juris Doctor
• Tufts University - 2007 Bachelor of Arts

Admissions:

• California Bar