Ashurst and Weil Gotshal & Manges have bagged the main advisory roles on the acquisition by US media giant NBC Universal of UK pay-TV company Sparrowhawk Holdings, in a deal thought to be worth around £175m.

Ashurst advised Sparrowhawk shareholders including 3i Group, Providence Equity Partners and TV impresario David Elstein on the disposal, which was announced yesterday (28 August). Corporate partner Andrew McMillan led an Ashurst team that also included competition partner Duncan Liddell, employment partner Caroline Carter and finance partner Simon Thrower.

Ashurst, which is not on 3i's panel of regular advisers, advised Sparrowhawk's owners on their 2005 purchase of the group from Crown Media for $242m (£120.5m). Other media clients of the top 10 City law firm include Reuters, United Business Media and Virgin Media.

City corporate partner Ian Hamilton led the team for Weil Gotshal on what marks its first major UK transaction for NBC, although the New York firm is regular deal counsel to NBC parent company General Electric in both the US and the UK.

The sale hands NBC control of the international Hallmark channels, broadcast to more than 60 million subscribers worldwide, as well as Movies 24 and new women's lifestyle channel Diva TV. NBC also gains the distribution rights to more than 580 television titles in the Sparrowhawk library.

Ashurst's McMillan told Legal Week: "It's rare where you have an acquisition where you see such a perfect fit between the acquirer and the seller. There's less private equity work in the media world now than a few years ago but the trade buyers are still playing a big role."

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