Mediawan buys Hello Sunshine from Candle Media

Mediawan has made its latest high-profile acquisition, this time buying Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine from Candle Media.

The company will join fellow acquisitions including Chernin Entertainment and See-Saw Films in the Paris-based group’s line-up, with Hello Sunshine co-founder Seth Rodsky joining the Mediawan board alongside Witherspoon and representatives from Mediawan.

Witherspoon is investing an undisclosed amount to facilitate the deal, but wider financial details were not revealed.

Reports emerged last year that Candle Media was exploring its options around Hello Sunshine, which reshuffled its senior team a year ago with chief exec Sarah Harden exiting.

The deal includes Reese’s Book Club, which has built a direct relationship with millions of consumers and its pipeline of IP.

Mediawan said the agreement would allow it to offer Hell Sunshine “global reach, resources and creative relationships across major creative hubs on five continents” to develop stories around the world.

Hello Sunshine was founded in 2016 with backing from Chernin and Jesse Jacobs through The Chernin Group. It has built a slate that includes Big Little Lies, The Morning Show, Where the Crawdads Sing and Little Fires Everywhere.

It is also behind Apple TV’s Lucky, which is based on a Reese’s Book Club selection.

The deal brings an end to Hello Sunshine’s five-year spell under the Candle Media banner, at which the Witherspoon-led firm was valued at around $900m.

Candle Media was launched by former Disney exec Kevin Mayer with the backing of private equity giant Blackstone in 2021, going on to make splashy deals for kids brand Cocomelon and taking a stake in Will Smith’s Westbrook.

Mediawan said the deal would allow Hello Sunshine to explore a broader range of storytelling formats and distribution models, and find audiences more widely around the world.

“Mediawan has built a global, independent studio by putting creators first. That has always been my vision for Hello Sunshine,” said Witherspoon.

“I’m investing alongside Mediawan and joining Pierre-Antoine Capton and his teams because this is the perfect home for this new media landscape.

“It’s also a homecoming. Peter Chernin and Jesse Jacobs believed in Hello Sunshine from day one. I’m 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 still ahead.”

“Mediawan has thrived by bringing together the best creative companies and giving them the resources, scale, and independence to tell great stories,” added Capton, co-founder and chief exec of Mediawan Group.

“Led by a generational talent in Reese, Hello Sunshine has an extraordinary track record of telling premium stories through film and TV and forming strong connections with audiences through Reese’s Book Club.

“Bringing these creative brands together, giving producers access to a broader pool of talent, IP and resources, while preserving their independence is what differentiates Mediawan. It strengthens what we can offer both talent and buyers, and Hello Sunshine brings a distinctive creative identity and a direct audience relationship that makes the whole group stronger.”

“Reese and her team have built Hello Sunshine into the premier company for women’s storytelling, which makes it a powerful addition to Mediawan’s unparalleled portfolio,” continued Peter Chernin, board member of Mediawan, and Scott Manson, chief exec of Mediawan in North America.

“We see a tremendous opportunity to pair Reese and her team’s creative vision with Mediawan’s deep understanding of talent and global reach.”

Mediawan, which is backed by financial giant KKR, said the acquisition was part of a broader strategy to create a platform of creative talent “by bringing together the best independent production companies in the industry under one roof while preserving the creative independence and distinct identities that made them successful.”

Almost 100 labels sit under the banner including Chernin Entertainment, Plan B Entertainment, See-Saw Films, Kinetic Content, Wiedemann & Berg, Palomar, Our Films, Drama Republic and Chi-Fou-Mi.