Sidley represented co-founder and significant equity holder, Connor Schell of Words + Pictures, as well as the co-founders and minority equity holders of 44 Blue Productions and Dorsey Pictures in the establishment of The North Road Company. The North Road Company is a global, multi-genre studio with the goal of producing scripted and non-scripted film and TV content across the U.S. and international markets. The formation combines several existing, market-leading assets: (1) Chernin Entertainment, the scripted TV and film business formed in 2010 by Chernin and led by Jenno Topping; (2) Red Arrow Studios’ U.S. assets, which North Road acquired on June 30 from European media company ProSiebenSat.1 and which is composed of various television production entities including 44 Blue and Dorsey Pictures, who Sidley previously represented in their sale to Red Arrow Studios; and (3) full ownership of Words + Pictures, the premium non-scripted business formed with Sidley’s assistance by Connor Schell, Chernin, and Jesse Jacobs in 2021. Debt financing for the transaction was provided by Apollo and equity financing by Providence.
The Sidley team was led by partner Matt Thompson, and included partner Ed Norris, senior managing associate Feifei Bian, managing associate Jonathan Westreich, and associate Keegan Hawkins.