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Hogan Lovells represents Rob Walton in deal to acquire NFL's Denver Broncos
Press releases
| 08
June
2022
Denver, 8 June 2022 – Global law firm Hogan Lovells represented Rob Walton, Carrie Walton Penner, and Greg Penner in the purchase and sale agreement announced 7 June for the Walton-Penner family to acquire the Denver Broncos from the Pat Bowlen Trust. The agreement is subject to approval from the National Football League’s finance committee and league ownership as well as the satisfaction of customary closing procedures. Read more on the announcement here. The Hogan Lovells deal team was led by partners Matt Eisler, head of the firm’s global sports group, and Russell Hedman. Key contributors to the team included partner Michael Kuh, counsel Steve Argeris, and partners Timothy Aragon and Mark Weinstein.
Eisler and Hedman, both based in the firm’s Denver office, were especially excited to score a win for the home team.
“We want to congratulate Rob, Carrie and Greg on being selected to move forward with the purchase of the Denver Broncos. We greatly appreciate the trust they placed in Hogan Lovells to guide them in this transaction,” said Eisler.
Hedman added: “The Broncos are a legendary team that has appeared in the Super Bowl eight times and won the championship three times. Under the leadership of the Walton-Penner family, we look forward to cheering on many more winning seasons.”
At Hogan Lovells, Eisler and Hedman have executed landmark deals in the sports industry, including the two highest value transactions in U.S. sports history – namely, this Denver Broncos transaction and the sale of the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets in 2019, which was then coined by The Wall Street Journal as the "highest price paid for a U.S. professional sports franchise."
The Hogan Lovells full service sports group has completed the highest value transactions across many different leagues, including the NFL, NBA, MLS and NWSL. In addition, the sports group has completed the first and second private equity transactions in NBA franchises and the first private equity transaction in the MLS, in each case following the recent rule changes adopted by such league, marking a new era in sports investment.
The full Hogan Lovells team includes:
Timothy R. Aragon
Steve Argeris
Scott Campbell
Toni Danielle Cannady
Natalie Cristo
Donald L. X. DePass
Emma Dowell
Matthew E. Eisler
Christiana Fell
Emily Gibson
Bothwell Graham
CJ Harrington
Russell B. Hedman
Michael C Hefter
Michael J. Kuh
Spencer Leroux
Danielle Litwak
David L London
Eli Mekonen
Marta A. Orpiszewska
Thomas Petrie
Scott Rosenbach
Jake Shaner
Margaret Shekhar
Zachary Siegel
Annie Liu Spencer
Lewis J. Turner
Jacob Wall
Mark J. Weinstein
Jonathan P. Wieder