Proskauer

Representative Matters

• VS&A Communications Partners II, L.P. and VS&A Communications Partners III, L.P. (private equity funds affiliated with Veronis, Suhler & Associates Inc.) in connection with the acquisition and disposition of media and communications properties (and in connection with the related financing transactions); the purchase by VS&A Communications Partners III, L.P. from Verizon Information Services, Inc. (a transaction involving the purchase of a combination of assets, stock and limited liability company membership interests); the sale by VS&A Communications Partners II, L.P. to Ascend Media, LLC, a portfolio company of JP Morgan Partners; the sale by VS&A Communications Partners II, L.P. to Conferon, Inc. of all of the limited liability company membership interests in ExpoExchange, LLC; and the purchase by VS&A Communications Partners III, L.P. of a membership interest in Ascend Media, LLC.
• VS&A Communications Partners II, L.P. in connection with the sale to a subsidiary of British Telecom of substantially all of the assets of Yellow Book USA, L.P. for an amount in excess of $600 million, after which, Bert was retained to continue to represent Yellow Book USA in connection with its acquisition program and other matters, and also was retained by British Telecom's U.S. telecommunications subsidiary to handle a substantial matter for that subsidiary.
• Informa Group plc, a large U.K. publisher of business information, in connection with its acquisitions of U.S. businesses, including netDecide, Inc. and Sparks Companies, Inc.; Bert previously had represented Informa in connection with its acquisitions of Bisys Research Services, Inc. and of MCM, Inc. 
• Served as U.S. counsel to GMT Communications Partners II, L.P., a private equity fund focused on the acquisition of communications and media properties in Europe.
• All acquisitions of properties (and related financing transactions) by ML Media Partners, L.P. and ML Media Opportunity Partners, L.P., two publicly held limited partnerships, and the sales of all of the properties held by those partnerships.
• As counsel to Ziff Communications Company and its affiliates for more than fifteen years, representing those companies in a broad range of legal matters and in all of their substantial transactions, including the acquisition and disposition of numerous individual publications; the sales of Ziff's consumer magazine and trade magazine businesses to CBS, Inc. and News America Publishing for an aggregate purchase price in excess of $700 million; the acquisition of several electronic publishing businesses; the negotiation of various joint venture arrangements; and the acquisition and disposition of television stations.
• Reader's Digest Association in connection with the acquisition of various publishing properties (including the acquisition of magazine and book publishing businesses from a subsidiary of Rodale Press) and in connection with the sale of American Health Magazine to a subsidiary of Time, Inc. 
• Served as counsel to Communications Equity Associates, a U.S. media investment banking firm, and as U.S. counsel to Baring Private Equity Partners Limited (a UK subsidiary of ING Bank), in connection with the organization of investment funds formed for the purpose of making acquisitions of media and other properties outside of the United States; Proskauer's Paris office, with Bert's participation, represented one of those funds, Baring Communications Equity Limited, in the acquisition of an interest in a substantial French publishing company.
• Served as counsel to Satcom Group plc., which engages in the satellite data transmission business; SilverPlatter Information Group, N.V., an electronic publisher; Television Station Partners, L.P., which owned and operated four television stations; The Microband Companies of America, a wireless cable operator; JAG Communications, Inc., which owned and operated six radio stations, and Partner Wealth Fund I, L.P., an investment company formed by Touche Ross & Co. to acquire operating businesses.
• Acted as counsel to Rupert Murdoch in his acquisition of five television stations from Metromedia for $1.2 billion, and represented the buyer of Western Publishing Company (the publisher of Golden Books) in a leveraged acquisition of that company.