David Sunkin

Sunkin has devoted a lot of his time to crafting deals for Relatively Media, both here and abroad.

Among them, this year he handled a multimillion-dollar print and advertising financing for Relativity with a group of hedge fund investors to finance a slate of films being released in 2014 and 2015.

Also on behalf of Relativity, Sunkin advised on a deal valued at $130 million with EuropaCorp. to form a joint venture to support both companies' U.S. distribution for their respective film slates.

China is proving to be a lucrative and active market for capital and strategic partnerships as well for Relativity, Sunkin said.

He is leading the team assisting the company with its various China initiatives.

Among them, Relativity has found financial backing from two new Chinese partners - Jiangsu Broadcasting Corp., which operates a variety of media outlets; and SeedShine Capital, an investment management company.

Relativity also is entering into a strategic advisory agreement with Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, which allows Relativity to leverage ICBC's international network of financial resources, Sunkin said..

When doing deals overseas, the legal structure always is challenging, Sunkin said, particularly when the political and cultural landscapes come into play.

"There are a lot of very strict rules governing offshore ownership of Asian media assets," he added, noting the company's partnership with B4U, a large "Bollywood" film and TV Network in India.

"For example, who can be a director of an Indian media company and how is ownership structured?" Sunkin said.

"We have to come up with a structure that advances the business objectives and complies with the local regulations," he added, "but doesn't raise the risk to my client."

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