Reese Witherspoon, with the help of Mediawan, buys her production banner, Hello Sunshine, from Candle Media.
Hello Sunshine co-founder Seth Rodsky will join the company’s board of directors alongside Witherspoon and representatives from Mediawan.
“Mediawan has built an independent global studio by putting creators first. That has always been my vision for Hello Sunshine,” Witherspoon said. “I am investing alongside Mediawan and joining Pierre-Antoine Capton and his teams because it is the ideal home for this new media landscape. It is also a return to basics. Peter Chernin and Jesse Jacobs believed in Hello Sunshine from day one. I am deeply proud of what our incredible team has built, and grateful to Blackstone and Candle Media for their partnership and unwavering support. The best is yet to come.”
Mediawan has gone on a spending spree, aggressively acquiring Hollywood assets of a certain pedigree. Recent acquisitions include Chernin Entertainment, Brad Pitt’s Plan B and See-Saw Films. Mediawan’s other production labels include Kinetic Content, Wiedemann & Berg, Palomar, Our Films, Drama Republic, Chapter2 and Chi-Fou-Mi. Titles released through Mediawan brands include films like “Backrooms,” “F1” and “The Greatest Showman,” and shows like “Slow Horses,” Call My Agent!, “Love Is Blind” and “New Girl.”
When Candle Media acquired Hello Sunshine in 201, their investment brought the company’s valuation to nearly $1 billion. The banner was founded by Witherspoon in 2016 with support from Chernin and Jesse Jacobs through The Chernin Group, and saw immediate success with the release of series like “Big Little Lies,” “The Morning Show,” “Daisy Jones & The Six” and the 2022 drama film “Where the Crawdads Sing.” More recent releases include “Elle,” the prequel series “Legally Blonde” on Prime Video and “Lucky” with Apple TV.
“Mediawan has thrived by bringing together the best creative companies and giving them the resources, scale and independence to tell great stories,” said Pierre-Antoine Capton, co-founder and CEO of Mediawan Group. “Led by a generational talent in Reese, Hello Sunshine has an extraordinary track record of telling best-in-class stories across film and television and building strong connections with audiences through Reese’s Book Club. Bringing these creative brands together, giving producers access to a broader pool of talent, intellectual property and resources, while maintaining their independence, is what sets Mediawan apart.”
Moelis & Company acted as financial advisor to Candle Media. Candle Media and Hello Sunshine were represented by Kirkland & Ellis. Reese Witherspoon was represented by Latham & Watkins. Mediawan was represented by Gibson Dunn.
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