Since the economy has tanked, this law student with an interest in transactional practice has taken to looking for signs of life. Where are the deals? Who is doing them? Which firms are involved?
This is how I became a regular reader of Steven Davidoff’s “Deal Professor” column (NYT). It’s a great habit and a great supplement to what I’m learning in my Venture Capital and M&A classes this semester.
I was happy to see that there was a lot of action in the tech market this week, including Logitech’s agreement to buy LifeSize, a company backed by our very own Austin Ventures. One of the deals that caught my eye was Electronics Arts acquisition of Playfish for $275MM in cash (plus another $25MM in equity and up to an additional $100MM for meeting certain milestones through 2011). It was a big week for the video game market: Activision Blizzard Inc.’s sales of the most recent installment of “Call of Duty” generated $310MM in revenue in North America and Britain on the day of its release.
But video game companies aren’t just generating fees for transactional lawyers. Litigators are getting a piece of the action as No Doubt sues Activision for using its likeness without permission in “Band Hero.”
Read the full article: Looking for Signs of Life