Christopher Brearton
Partner
Christopher Brearton is the managing partner of O’Melveny’s Century City office and a member of the Entertainment, Sports and Media Practice.
Christopher primarily advises motion picture studios, independent producers, financial institutions and investment funds, television networks, and sports organizations. He has counseled clients in transactions ranging from the creation of strategic alliances, complex commercial licensing arrangements, project financing, and industry-specific mergers and acquisitions.
Prior to joining O’Melveny, Christopher spent several years as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) with KPMG in Los Angeles.
Christopher has been recognized as a leading lawyer in both the entertainment and sports fields. He was named to the
SportsBusiness Journal’s annual “Forty Under 40” list of the most promising young executives in the sports business. He was also featured in
Variety’s annual “Dealmakers Impact Report” on influential individuals in the entertainment business, as well as
Variety’s annual “Legal Impact Report” on the top 50 game-changing entertainment attorneys.
Christopher was profiled as one of the top 40 entertainment lawyers as part of the
Los Angeles Business Journal's "Who's Who in L.A. Law" Special Report. He was also named a leading lawyer by
Chambers in Media and Entertainment Transactional Law and named a
Legal500 recommended lawyer in the categories of
Media, Technology and Telecoms and
Film, Music & Television.
Illustrative Professional Experience
Strategic Alliances / Mergers & Acquisitions
- Represented Participant Media in its significant equity investment in Cineflix Media Inc., a Montreal, Quebec-based diversified global media corporation and leader in television production and distribution
- Represented ICM ownership group in the sale of the operating licensed talent agency business to a management led group of individual agent partners
- Represented Spyglass Entertainment in connection with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s pre-packaged Chapter 11 restructuring plan, subsequent to which Spyglass’ co-Chairmen and Chief Executive Officers, Gary Barber and Roger Birnbaum, were installed as co-Chairmen and Chief Executive Officers of MGM
- Represented Cerberus Capital Management LP in connection with its acquisition of its interest and stake in Spyglass Entertainment
- Represented Soros Fund Management in connection with its acquisition of the DreamWorks film library
Complex Licensing Arrangements
- Represented DreamWorks Animation in connection with its overall multi-year, multi-picture distribution arrangement with Paramount Pictures
- Represented Metro Goldwyn Mayer Inc. in its 5-year deal with Sony Picture Entertainment to co-finance and distribute a number of motion picture projects, including the next installment of the James Bond franchise and the upcoming The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
- Represented Univision Communications Inc. in connection with its strategic agreement with Grupo Televisa, the largest media company in the Spanish-speaking world, and in its subsequent US$1.2 billion joint venture and program licensing agreement with Grupo Televisa
Motion Picture Project Financing
- Represented Metro Goldwyn Mayer Inc. in obtaining a US$500 million credit facility arranged by JPMorgan Chase upon MGM’s recent emergence from Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the proceeds of which will be used to fund MGM’s upcoming film productions and for other general corporate purposes
- Represented Participant Media in connection with the formation of a US$250 million leveraged film fund with Imagenation Abu Dhabi and JP Morgan, and formation of a US$100 million film fund with Doha Film Institute
Sports
- Represents the International Olympic Committee in connection with the licensing of broadcast and new media rights across the world
- Represented the San Francisco Giants in connection with its acquisition of an ownership stake in the San Francisco area regional sports network and a related multi-year broadcast license agreement
- Represented Univision Communications, Inc. in its acquisition of broadcast and new media rights for the 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cup
- Represented Qwest Communications in connection with its stadium naming rights agreement with the Seattle Seahawks
Professional Activities
Member, Board of Directors of LA’s Promise; Academy of Television Arts & Sciences; Beverly Hills Bar Association; Pacific Council on International Policy; Sports Lawyers Association
Speaker, Sundance Artists Services Workshop, Park City, Utah (January 2013);
Variety Dealmakers Breakfast, Los Angeles (December 2011); “Entertainment Law,” The University of Mississippi School of Law, Oxford (November 2011); "Sports and Brands: What Leads to a Successful Marketing Partnership?"
Variety Sports Entertainment Summit, Los Angeles (July 2011); "Global Market Update: State of Film Financing as the Pendulum Swings Back," International Film Finance Forum, Cannes (May 2011); "What Corporate Counsel Want," The California Legal Market, Los Angeles (October 2010); "The Value of Sports Media," University of Kentucky Sports Marketing Academy (May 2010);"Entering Hollywood and Beyond: Paving the Way for Outside Investors," National Investment Community’s Forum on Entertainment Finance (October 2006)
Awards, Named by
Variety as one of “50 Game-Changing Entertainment Attorneys” (Legal Impact Report, June 2012); named a "Super Lawyer" in a survey conducted by Law & Politics Media Inc. and published in
Los Angeles magazine (2012 - 2013); named "Leading Lawyer in Media" by
Euromoney's Guide to the World's Leading Media Lawyers (2012); named in
Best Lawyers in America -Entertainment Law (2012); named one of the top 40 entertainment lawyers as part of the
Los Angeles Business Journal's "Who's Who in L.A. Law" Special Report (2010); named to
SportsBusiness Journal and
SportsBusiness Daily’s "Forty Under 40" list recognizing the most promising young executives in sports business under the age of 40 (2010); named a
Legal500 recommended lawyer for Media, Technology and Telecoms: Film, Music and TV (2008, 2012); named a leader by
Chambers in Media and Entertainment Transactional Law (2009 - 2012); named a
Variety Dealmaker (2011) and
"Up Next" Dealmaker (2009); named a "Rising Star" in a survey conducted by Law & Politics Media Inc. and published in
Los Angeles magazine (2005 - 2010); named by the
Los Angeles Business Journal as a member of "Who's Who in the Entertainment Industry: The Next Generation" (2001)