Former Disney executive Jim Kapenstein is set to join Starz next week as the company’s new chief legal and strategy officer.
In his new role, Kapenstein will be be responsible for developing and leading the strategic direction of business and legal affairs for the company, including distribution, content acquisition, production, litigation, employment matters and legal and regulatory compliance. He will also play a central role in leading strategic corporate transactions, including M&A, while overseeing the company’s governance and broader public company responsibilities.
Kapenstein, who will be based in Starz’s Santa Monica office, will report directly to CEO Jeff Hirsch.
“Few executives bring the breadth of experience Jim does with his involvement in some of the largest transactions in media history,” Hirsch said in a statement. “His insight into guiding organizations through periods of transformation will be invaluable to us as we enter into our next phase of growth.”
Kapenstein spent nearly three decades at Disney, most recently serving as deputy general counsel where he managed and supervised the company’s corporate team.
His broad oversight included complex mergers, acquisitions and divestures, joint ventures, antitrust, corporate finance, social responsibility, strategic transactions and alliances, consumer payments, corporate structuring & governance and beyond. Notable deals include the acquisitions of 21st Century Fox, ESPN’s equity investment with the NFL, BAMTech, Hulu, Fubo, Lucas Films, Marvel and Pixar, among many others.
Prior to Disney, he was a senior associate at Alston & Bird where he also worked on mergers, acquisitions & divestures, joint ventures, strategic licensing transactions, corporate governance and complex corporate transactions. Kapenstein began his career at Arent & Fox in Washington, D.C.
“I am honored to join Jeff and the Starz team at such an exciting time in the company’s growth and evolution,” Kapenstein added. “Starz has built an exceptional, profitable digital streaming business. I am looking forward to helping Jeff and his team shape the next stage of its growth and drive strategic direction through disciplined expansion, capitalizing on existing market opportunities and maintaining a best-in-class legal and corporate governance framework.”
His appointment comes as Allen Media Group founder Byron Allen is eyeing a takeover of Starz. In March, he amassed a 10.7% stake in a $25 million deal with former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.
Starz immediately responded by adopting a poison pill to defend itself against a hostile takeover. The plan, which will will expire on March 10, 2027, will be triggered if a person or group acquires 17.5% or more of the company’s outstanding shares. It can also be extended to March 10, 2029 or be terminated early.
“It was stupid. It’s not going to stop me. When I’m ready to buy the company, I will buy the entire company. I would like to keep the company public and invest more money into Starz,” Allen told TheWrap in an interview last month. “But if they continue to try and stop me from making a greater investment and having a greater stake, I will just make an offer and buy all of the outstanding shares. I will take the company private and then I’ll come back around and take the company public. Who knows? I may use BuzzFeed to buy Starz. I have options. But one thing’s for sure, I will eventually control Starz.”
Though Allen says he’s discussed getting together with Starz management, he knocked them for not offering him Eagle Equity Partners chairman and CEO Harry Sloan’s board seat following news that he would not seek re-election.
“I said, ‘I’m the second largest stockholder and you don’t want to offer me the board seat? Okay, it’s not a problem, I’ll just buy the whole company and fire everyone on the board’,” he said. “So it’s going to be interesting. What I’ll say to everybody is strap yourselves in. It’s going to be a fun ride.”
