Shearman & Sterling is advising Abu Dhabi Media Investment Corp Limited (ADMIC), a private investment company owned by HH Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, on its 50:50 joint venture with BSkyB to set up and operate a 24-hour Arabic language news and current affairs channel under the Sky News brand, to be based in Abu Dhabi. The deal was signed on 29 November 2010.The channel is expected to launch in 2012 and will be available free to air across the Middle East and North Africa region. It will be broadcast from ADMIC’s studios in Abu Dhabi but will have a network of newsgathering bureaux across MENA, with further offices in London and Washington, D.C. This is viewed as a groundbreaking joint venture for both ADMIC and BSkyB as it represents a key step for Abu Dhabi in its aim to build its reputation as a regional media hub and to develop local talent and a significant expansion of Sky News’s international operations.
Shearman & Sterling advised ADMIC on all aspects of the transaction from initial negotiations to finalization of agreed documentation.
The Shearman & Sterling team of lawyers in the firm’s London and Abu Dhabi offices was led by M&A partner Laurence Levy and associate Lucy Graham. The team also included partner Ian Nisse and associate Joanne Chapman in Abu Dhabi and partner Matthew Readings, counsels Deborah Lincoln and Sam Whitaker, associates George Milton and Richard Porter and trainee Jack Prytherch in London.
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