Practice Areas

FCC Counsel on Financial Transactions

Fletcher, Heald & Hildreth has significant experience working with clients and their counsel in connection with media and telecom lending and investment transactions. We serve as special FCC counsel in a variety of different financing transactions, including private financing and investment, public financing and offerings, bankruptcies, workouts, and foreclosures. We have served as special FCC counsel for lenders, mezzanine funds, and private equity and venture capital firms, as well as for media and telecommunications companies and entrepreneurs in connection with loans and equity investments and financings.  We work directly with the lender, investor or borrower or through outside counsel, depending on client preferences.  Our expertise runs to advising lenders, investors and borrowers on FCC rules and regulations governing the operation of media, telecommunications and wireless firms, as well as FCC regulations affecting foreign ownership, lending practices and collateralization of security interests for loans and investments.  We counsel foreign investors on Federal communications laws and FCC regulations that impact upon investments in US-based media and telecommunications companies.  We assist our lending and investment clients and/or their counsel with due diligence on FCC licenses and operations, FCC compliance matters and valuation of broadcast, wireless, satellite and telecommunications businesses. We also review loan and security documents and FCC legal opinions and analyze ownership structures to assure compliance with FCC regulations.  We assist in identifying regulatory barriers that might affect the ability of a borrower or investor to complete a transaction and recommend approaches to avoiding those concerns.  We assist lenders and operating companies with regulatory issues affecting financially distressed companies subject to the transfer, control, and security interest restrictions of the FCC. We also work with our financial clients’ bankruptcy and restructuring counsel and provide advice regarding FCC multiple ownership, cross-ownership and foreign ownership regulations /restrictions that often arise in restructuring and financing distressed communications companies.