Kevin S. Masuda is a partner in the Los Angeles office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. He is a member of the Corporate Department and of the Media, Entertainment and Technology Practice Group and the Sports Law Practice Group.
Mr. Masuda regularly represents content companies including motion picture studios and music companies, technology companies, gaming companies, private equity funds, sports and talent agencies, and other clients in various types of business transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, investments, restructurings, public and private securities offerings, licensing agreements, sponsorships, and other strategic agreements.
Representative transactions* include representations of: Beats Electronics and Beats Music in various equity and debt financings and the companies' $3 billion sale to Apple; the independent directors of DreamWorks Animation in the sale of DreamWorks Animation to NBCUniversal for $3.8 billion; MGM Resorts International in the acquisition of the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City and in a strategic joint venture for online poker; Deluxe Entertainment Services Group and its parent, MacAndrews & Forbes Incorporated, in various acquisition transactions of post-production companies and services agreements; Wasserman Media Group in the rollup of various sports agencies (10+); Independent Sports & Entertainment in equity investments and debt transactions; United Talent Agency, ICM Partners, and Paradigm Talent Agency in restructurings, employment agreements, and general corporate matters; Nederlander Concerts, a leading concert promoter, in various strategic venue transactions; The Yucaipa Companies in various PIPE transactions, private investments in media and entertainment companies, and restructuring transactions; Adverum Biotechnologies, a publicly traded gene therapy company, in acquisitions and corporate governance matters; Universal Music Group and Universal Music Publishing Group in various strategic transactions, including the acquisition/formation of music labels and music management companies (20+), venture capital/strategic investments, and various acquisitions and dispositions of business lines and assets; Cannery Casino Resorts, the Ruffin Companies, Fertitta Gaming, the Nine Group, and private equity funds in acquisitions, investments, restructurings, and other strategic transactions in the gaming industry; investors in purchasing interests in major sports franchises (Los Angeles Lakers, Golden State Warriors and Boston Red Sox); and the San Diego Chargers in the team's Los Angeles relocation.
Mr. Masuda was recognized in Variety's 2017 Legal Impact Report as one of the top attorneys in entertainment and media. He was also named as one of 2016's Most Influential Minority Lawyers in Los Angeles by the Los Angeles Business Journal and named to Variety's 2016 Dealmakers Impact Report. He was named to The Hollywood Reporter's 2015 Power Lawyers List and was featured in Law360's Dealmakers Q&A.
Mr. Masuda serves on the board of directors of Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Los Angeles. He also served as president for five years of the Society to Aid the Retarded Inc., a non-profit corporation that provides housing and other services to mentally challenged adults and is an adjunct professor of law at Loyola Law School, where he teaches mergers and acquisitions.
Mr. Masuda received his Juris Doctor, cum laude, in 1992 from Harvard Law School. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree, summa cum laude, in 1988 from the University of California at Berkeley.
*Includes representations prior to Mr. Masuda's association with Gibson Dunn.
