As with its previous acquisitions which were financed partly through stock, Mediawan is bringing Witherspoon into its shareholder base, joining a stellar roster of talent and producers who have invested in the Paris-based group, including Pitt, Chernin and Plan B partners Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner, as well as See-Saw’s Iain Canning and Emilie Sherman. The company also launched LuckyChap International, the London-based arm of Margot Robbie’s company, last November.
Variety understands that Mediawan paid the lower end of the tens of millions of dollars, although Capton declined to disclose the exact figure or financial terms.
“I can’t confirm. The bottom line is that we acquired 100% of Hello Sunshine along with Reese and Mediawan, from Candle Media, and the money we’re investing is going toward development and content creation. It’s truly being invested in the company,” said Capton, who credited Chernin and Jesse Jacobs, former shareholders in Hello Sunshine, for bringing the opportunity to Mediawan.
Capton also said Mediawan intends to bring Reese’s Book Club internationally, including through potential productions in France and elsewhere in Europe.
“For all Mediawan producers — whether they’re Italian, German, British, or Australian — access to all the IP that Reese can leverage through her Book Club is something very rare,” Capton said. “Yesterday, when we announced Reese and Hello Sunshine’s arrival at Mediawan, all our producers called us asking: How can we work with them? How can we access the IP? How can we co-produce with them? There was a very strong desire from all our producers.”
Asked about the skepticism surrounding the Hello Sunshine deal, similar to the doubts raised when Mediawan acquired Plan B, Capton pointed to the latter’s recent hits.
Capton also sees further avenues for Mediawan to expand its footprint in the U.S. “We’re going to continue. Peter Chernin’s arrival at the group has helped us become more ambitious, and with KKR’s support and the help of our local teams, we’re going to do something quite unique.”
The French executive, who shares his time between Los Angeles and Paris, is also optimistic about the prospects for groups like Mediawan following the recent Paramount-Warner Bros. merger even as Skydance prepares to make massive cuts.
