Christopher Spicer Quoted in The Hollywood Reporter on China’s Foreign Dealmaking Clampdown
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The Hollywood Reporter has quoted Akin Gump entertainment partner Christopher Spicer in the article “Avi Lerner Says Millennium Sale to China Not Dead Yet,” regarding the aborted sale of Avi Lerner’s Millennium Films to China’s Recon Group.
The article reports that U.S. negotiators have been seeking steep breakup fees when engaging in M&A activity with Chinese firms due to the difficulty of closing deals in China’s increasingly strict regulatory climate. In this instance, Lerner received a breakup fee of $20 million.
According to the article, the owner of Recon Group is working to get around regulators and is still pushing for a deal. Lerner, the article reports, is assuming that China’s foreign dealmaking clampdown may relax after the 19th Party Congress convenes next month. For his part, Spicer said, “I don’t see the regulatory climate changing that soon.”
