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Craig Sjodin
Brad Pitt is selling 60% of his production company, Plan B Entertainment, to French media conglomerate Mediawan in a deal that’s set to be announced this weekend, according to people familiar with the matter.
The deal, which has been signed, values Plan B in the hundreds of millions but below $500 million, said the people, who asked not to be named because the discussions are private. Neither Plan B nor Mediawan responded to requests for comment.
Pitt, the Oscar-winning star of films such as “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” and “Fight Club,” founded Plan B in 2001 with his now ex-wife Jennifer Aniston and his then-manager Brad Grey, who died in 2017. Pitt became the sole owner after he and Aniston divorced.
The production company has helped make both movies and TV series over the past two decades, including Academy Award-winning movies such as “The Departed” and “12 Years a Slave.” It’s produced several films released this year, including Netflix’s “Blonde,” a fictionalized take on Marilyn Monroe, and “She Said,” which detailed The New York Times’ investigation of sexual assault in Hollywood.
For TV, Plan B’s productions have included HBO’s 2014 adaptation of “The Normal Heart,” directed by Ryan Murphy, and Amazon Prime Video’s 2021 miniseries “The Underground Railroad.”
Independent production studios have become hot acquisition properties as large media companies build out their streaming services. Last year, Reese Witherspoon sold a majority stake in Hello Sunshine to what would become Candle Media, founded by Disney veterans Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs, in a deal that valued the company at $900 million. Candle Media also acquired a minority stake in Westbrook Inc. — the production company founded by Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith – earlier this year.
Mediawan is a content studio that produces movies and TV series in Europe and the U.S. It owns more than 60 production labels and was co-founded by Chairman Pierre Antoine-Capton.
The boutique investment bank Moelis led the sale for Plan B. A spokesperson for Moelis declined to comment.
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