Olswang acts for Setanta on cross border media sale to Al Jazeera

International TMT law firm Olswang has advised Irish entity Danu Investment Partners on the sale of its Australian pay tv channel "Setanta Sports".  The company owning the channel was purchased by BeIn Sports, a global sports channel business owned by Qatari Sports Investments, an affiliate of Al Jazeera Media Networks.

Danu Investment Patners, was founded in 2009 and is owned by Michael O'Rourke, Leonard Ryan and Mark O'Meara. The company is based in Dublin but also holds investments in Australia, Asia, the United Kingdom and Ireland. Leonard and Michael are the co-founders of the Setanta Sports Group, which they founded together in 1992. Since then, they have built the company into a profitable international sports television operator, with operations worldwide.

The deal remains subject to regulatory approvals in Australia but will enable Danu Investment Partners to continue to build on its reputable track record in the investment holding sector.

Principal at Danu. Mark O'Meara stated "We have a long association with Olswang through its strong Media team and Partner David Zeffman. It was great to work with the corporate team and a different David on this challenging cross border sale."

David Roberts, Corporate Partner at Olswang said, "It was a real pleasure working with Mark and his team to conclude what was a competitive auction process and another example of the firm's expertise in advising on cross border transactions in sectors where the firm has a leading presence."

The Olswang team was led by Corporate Partner David Roberts with assistance from lead Corporate Associate Abigail Wahnon and Associate Lydia Hutchinson (tax).