Overview
Kevin R. Schulz is a partner and business lawyer with Foley & Lardner LLP. His practice focuses in the areas of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and commercial transactions. Kevin is a member of the firm’s Transactional/M&A, Commercial Transactions & Business Counseling and International Practices, as well as the Food & Beverage, Manufacturing and Health Care Industry Teams. He is co-chair of the firm’s Sports & Entertainment Group.
Kevin routinely represents buyers and sellers, both domestically and internationally, in mergers, acquisitions, dispositions, internal reorganizations, joint ventures, and other strategic alliances in a variety of industries, including professional sports, health care, food and beverage, consumer products, industrial equipment, manufacturing, and consulting services.
Representative M&A Matters
- Representing a large European-based global leader in high performance adhesion and surfacing solutions in the sale of its U.S., Canadian and Mexican resins and overlays businesses to an affiliate of a large Canadian pension plan
- Representing a U.S.-based manufacturer of corrugated packaging and displays in its sale to a private equity fund
- Representing a strategic buyer in its acquisition of a U.S.-based food processing company and in its subsequent sale of the company several years later to a private equity fund
- Representing the metal recycling business of a large European-based global manufacturing firm in several acquisitions of manufacturers of metal recycling equipment
- Representing the U.S. operations of a large European-based global consumer products company in its acquisition of a manufacturer of residential floor mats
- Representing the U.S. operations of a large European-based global consumer products company in the divestiture of its soaker hose line of business to a strategic buyer
- After advising a U.S.-based pharmaceutical waste consulting firm from its inception, representing the firm in its sale to a leading provider of comprehensive waste and environmental services in North America
Kevin also serves the role of outside general counsel for a number of private companies, routinely advising them in connection with a variety of commercial matters, including supply agreements, sales representative agreements, licensing arrangements, confidentiality and nondisclosure agreements, employment agreements, consulting agreements, terms and conditions of sale and purchase, distribution of goods, and provision of services.
Sports Industry Experience
Kevin also has extensive experience in the sports industry, where he advises sports clients (including professional sports teams, owners and acquirers of professional sports teams, a professional sports league, sports technology companies, colleges, sponsors, and media companies) in connection with a variety of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and commercial matters, including sales and acquisitions of professional sports franchises, licensing arrangements, promotional and advertising agreements, sponsorship and endorsement agreements, naming rights, joint ventures, ticketing arrangements, esports, stadium/arena service agreements, formation of regional sports networks (RSNs), and television, radio, over-the-top (OTT)/streaming, and media rights agreements.
Representative Matters in the Sports Industry
- Representing the Milwaukee Bucks President and Owner Herbert Kohl in the $550 million sale of the basketball franchise to New York investment firm executives Marc Lasry and Wesley Edens, the then largest transaction ever in the NBA, including a requirement in the deal that the team be kept in Milwaukee, with the parties collectively pledging at least $200 million toward the development of a new arena
- Representing the owner of an NBA team in its internal reorganization aimed at separating non-sports entertainment properties from the NBA-related holdings, and also helping the team explore options for renovations to modernize the facility and find solutions for gaining public support of a renovation project
- Representing Guggenheim Baseball Management (the ownership group for the Los Angeles Dodgers) in the formation of American Media Productions, LLC (AMP), which launched a new regional sports network called SportsNet LA, and the related media rights agreement between the Dodgers and AMP, granting AMP the rights to air Dodgers games
- Representing Guggenheim Baseball Management, the group headed by Mark Walter, Earvin “Magic” Johnson, Peter Guber and Stan Kasten, the former president of the Atlanta Braves and Washington Nationals, among others, in the acquisition of the Los Angeles Dodgers, the then largest transaction ever for a professional sports franchise
- Representing Rangers Baseball Express (the investment group led by Chuck Greenberg and Nolan Ryan) in its acquisition of the Texas Rangers, a long and complex transaction that culminated in the sale of the club through a Chapter 11 bankruptcy auction
- Representing the Ricketts family in its acquisition of a controlling interest in the Chicago Cubs and Wrigley Field and a related ownership interest in a regional sports network, all through a complex leveraged partnership structure, the then single largest transaction ever for a North American sports franchise
- Representing the Milwaukee Brewers in the sale of the club to Mark Attanasio
- Representing the seller of a significant minority interest in the Cincinnati Bengals
- Representing San Diego Padres ownership in the team’s local telecast rights agreement and equity ownership in a regional sports network
- Representing other teams, media companies, and video game/esports entities in television, radio, over-the-top (OTT)/streaming, and media rights deals, including the Texas Rangers, the Green Bay Packers, the Milwaukee Brewers, Hi-Rez Studios, and a major diversified media company
Thought Leadership
In October 2017, Kevin was named to the Board of Advisors of Marquette University Law School’s National Sports Law Institute. Kevin was also selected to serve on the 2017 Law360 Sports Editorial Advisory Board. The purpose of the editorial advisory board is to provide feedback on Law360's coverage and to gain insight from experts in the field on how best to shape future coverage. In addition, he is a frequent speaker on M&A and sports law matters for national programs and universities, including Marquette University, Tulane University, Northwestern University, University of Notre Dame, University of California (Berkeley), and the Corporate Ticket Impact Conference (CTIC), among others.
Kevin is the author of "Due Diligence In Acquiring A Pro Sports Team," Law360 (February 2011), and “Bankruptcy of a Professional Sports Franchise and the Implications for the Franchise and Its Players,” DePaul Journal of Sports Law & Contemporary Problems (August 2012).
Recognition
Kevin's professional recognition includes the following:
- Sports Business Journal, “Power Player” in Sports (2021)
- Selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America© in the field of Mergers and Acquisitions Law (2016 - 2023)
- Legal 500 for M&A/corporate and commercial - M&A - middle-market (sub-$500m) (2015 - 2017)
- Legal 500 for Sports (2015 - 2018)
- Leading Lawyers for Business, M Magazine (2014)
- 40 Under 40 Recognition Award for Legal Advisor category, The M&A Advisor (2013)
- Who’s Who Legal: Sports & Gaming 2021
- Who's Who of Sports & Entertainment Lawyers, Who’s Who Legal (2013 - 2016, 2019, 2020)
- Leading Lawyers for Mergers & Acquisitions, M Magazine (2013, 2015)
- Wisconsin Super Lawyers – Rising Stars® list for Mergers & Acquisitions (2012 - 2014)
Education
-
University of Wisconsin Law School (J.D., magna cum laude, 1999)
- First in graduating class
- Member, Order of the Coif
- Managing Editor, Wisconsin Law Review
- Recipient, The Wall Street Journal Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Study of Corporate Law
- Recipient, American Bankruptcy Institute Medal of Excellence
- Judicial intern to the Honorable Howard G. Munson, U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of New York
- University of Notre Dame (B.B.A., summa cum laude, 1996)
- Recipient, Raymond P. Kent Award for Outstanding Finance Student
Professional Affiliations
- Member, Milwaukee Bar Association
- Member, State Bar of Wisconsin
- Business Law Section of State Bar of Wisconsin
- Former Board Member, Sports & Entertainment Law Section of State Bar of Wisconsin
- Business Law Section of American Bar Association
- Forum on the Entertainment & Sports Industries of American Bar Association
- Member, Sports Lawyers Association
- Member, United Way of Greater Milwaukee Emerging Leaders
- Member, The Edward Frederick Sorin Society (University of Notre Dame)
Admissions
- Wisconsin
- Eastern District of Wisconsin