Nicholas Simon helps companies and investors negotiate and execute corporate, finance, and commercial transactions by providing prompt and practical advice that is focused on helping clients achieve their business objectives while minimizing legal risk and expense. Nick is the chair of KMK Law’s Sports & Entertainment Industry Group and has represented numerous clients in the sports industry, including leagues, teams, owners, college conferences, and sports businesses in a range of matters, including mergers and acquisitions, stadium and team debt financings, equity financings, media, apparel, naming rights, sponsorship, and other commercial matters.
Nick has extensive experience advising clients on complex mergers and acquisitions and finance and transactions across a range of industries, including sports, technology, financial services, consumer products, manufacturing, and business services. Nick has advised companies, investors, and private equity sponsors in a variety of mergers and acquisitions, strategic investments, and equity financing, from large public and private company acquisitions to smaller non-controlling investments and asset divestitures. He also has advised borrowers and lenders in a variety of financing transactions, including acquisition financings, syndicated and bilateral facilities, stadium financings, secured and unsecured credit facilities, and securitized, factoring and supply chain financing facilities.
Representative Work
- Fussball Club Cincinnati LLC ("FC Cincinnati") in connection its acquisition, ownership, and operation of a Major League Soccer (MLS) team, including with respect to its MLS expansion agreement and other league governance matters, ownership structure and equity financing, stadium debt financing, sponsorship agreements, including a jersey sponsorship agreement, stadium and training facility naming rights agreements, media rights agreements, and other commercial agreements.
- Reigning Champs, a leading path-to-college solutions-based digital network for high school and college student athletes, parents, coaches, and administrators in a variety of matters including:
- the acquisitions of Zcruit, a Chicago-based sports analytics company that uses predictive analytics to optimize the recruiting process for college football programs and CollegeAdvisor, which provides high school students access to digital tools and personalized support to help organize, track, and strengthen their college applications.
- a series of additional roll-up stock and asset acquisitions in the youth athletics market.*
- Sponsorship and other commercial agreements with youth sports clubs, associations, and service providers.
- RCX Sports, a premier youth-sports experiences business and the operator of the NFL FLAG Program, in a variety of matters including multi-year sponsorships with national and international companies, NFL FLAG tournament sanctioning, and general operations.
- National Flag Football in the acquisition of flag football leagues and general operations.
- Infinity Property and Casualty Corporation (NASDAQ: IPCC) in its $1.6 billion merger with Kemper Corporation (NYSE: KMPR).
- Cintas Corporation in the sale of its Managed Solutions business.
- Multi-Color Corporation in its acquisition financing consisting of a $650 million senior secured term loan facility, a $400 million senior secured multi-currency revolving loan facility, and a $600 million offering of senior debt securities under Rule 144A and Regulation S to finance the acquisition of the Labels Division of Constantia Flexibles.
- A private equity sponsor in the acquisition, divesture, and management of multiple portfolio companies in a variety of industries.
- A publicly traded technology company in financing matters, including a multi-million dollar receivables purchase facility.
- An early stage fintech company in a variety of finance and loan matters.
- A middle market chemicals company in its $18 million term and asset based revolving loan with a regional bank.
- A global portfolio company of a private equity sponsor in the textile industry on a rage of corporate and commercial matters.
- A publicly traded specialty pharmaceutical company in its acquisition financing of a $1.2 billion senior secured term loan facility and a $150 million senior secured revolving credit facility.*
- A large publicly traded technology company in its $1.25 billion senior unsecured revolving credit facility and $900 million accounts receivable securitization facility.*
- Professional sports leagues, teams, and lenders in connection with multiple league, team, and stadium financings.*
- Professional sports leagues, teams, and investors in multiple mergers and acquisitions, equity financings, and commercial matters.*
Represented a large multinational biopharmaceutical company in its acquisition of a majority stake in a privately held health care services company.*
* Indicates experience prior to joining KMK Law.
