Robert Blashek is a skilled and seasoned tax and investment fund lawyer. His practice covers a broad range of federal and California income tax matters, with particular emphasis on private equity, mergers and acquisitions, reorganizations, financings, bankruptcy and workouts, partnerships and strategic joint ventures, and general business tax planning.
Rob’s clients span a broad array of industries. They include major film studios and entertainment companies as well as private equity funds that invest across a wide variety of sectors such as aerospace and consumer products.
In recent years, Rob has managed the tax implications of numerous acquisitions, strategic joint ventures, and financings for clients such as Univision Communications, Oaktree Capital, Legendary Entertainment, Western Digital, WebMD, Houlihan Lokey, Warner Brothers, and Lions Gate Entertainment.
In addition, Rob has formed or assisted in the formation of private equity investment funds for clients such as Freeman Spogli & Co., Vance Street Capital, Shamrock Capital, Black Canyon, Clarity Partners, Northstar Capital, Key Principal Partners, and Seidler Equity Partners, among others.
- Represented Western Digital (WD) in its acquisition of Hitachi Global Storage Technologies (Hitachi GST), a subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd., in a cash and stock transaction valued at approximately US$4.3 billion
- Represented Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios (MGM) in its acquisition of a 55 percent interest in Mark Burnett’s One Three Media and LightWorkers Media. The deal includes all of their interests in the blockbuster shows “Survivor,” “The Voice,” “Shark Tank,” “The Bible,” and “The Apprentice”
- Represented Bristol Industries in its US$335 million acquisition by Consolidated Aerospace Manufacturing, LLC (CAM)
- Recently represented Cerberus Capital Management, L.P. and JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. as the key creditors and sponsors of a chapter 11 plan in AMF Bowling’s high-profile bankruptcy case
- Represented Major League Baseball's San Diego Padres in the sale of the team to a group which includes and was led by members of the O’Malley and Seidler family
- Represented Warner Bros. in its acquisitions of Alloy Entertainment, a leading producer of youth-oriented media and marketing services, and Flixster, a popular movie discovery application company with over 25 million worldwide users per month
- Represented Univision Communications Inc., the leading Spanish-language media company in America, in the closing of a joint venture with ABC News to launch a 24/7 English-language news channel for bilingual Hispanics
Admissions
Bar Admissions
- California
- New York
Education
- Columbia University, J.D., 1979: Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar; Columbia Law Review, 1977-1979
- Brown University, B.A., 1976: magna cum laude; Phi Beta Kappa
Honors & Awards
- Recognized by Best Lawyers in America for Tax Law in Century City, CA (2006-2025)
- Listed in Chambers USA - America’s Leading Business Lawyers (2003-2020), including a Band 1 ranking in Chambers’ Tax section (2013-2022) and Senior Statespeople (2023-2024)
- Named a “Corporate Tax: Advisory Expert” by Who’s Who Legal (2018)
- Listed in The Legal 500 US (2008-2015, 2017-2022)
- Named a “Super Lawyer” in a survey conducted by Law & Politics Media Inc. and published in Los Angeles magazine (2004-2015)
- Recognized as a leader in private equity taxation in “World Tax,” International Tax Review's annual assessment of the world's leading tax firms (2008-2015)
- Listed in PLC's, Which Lawyer? Global 50 Firms 2011
- Named “2010 Los Angeles Tax Lawyer of the Year” by Best Lawyers® in America
Professional Activities
Clerkships
- Honorable Robert J. Kelleher, US District Court for the Central District of California
Member
- Taxation Sections of American Bar Association
- Los Angeles County Bar Association
Author
- “Tax Issues for Troubled Companies,” 2010 Major Tax Planning, Matthew Bender & Co. (2010)
- “Investments in ‘Pass-Through’ Portfolio Companies by Private Equity Partnerships: Tax Strategies and Structuring for Minimizing Adverse Tax Consequences to Tax-Exempt and Foreign Partners,” 2005 Major Tax Planning, Matthew Bender & Co. (2005)
- “Tax Planning For Financially Distressed Companies,” 1991 Major Tax Planning, Matthew Bender & Co. (1991)
Speaker
- Tax seminars and conferences sponsored by the U.S.C. Tax Institute, San Jose State University High Technology Tax Institute, Los Angeles County Bar Association and other organizations
Past Chairman
- The Corporate Tax Committee of the Los Angeles County Bar Association