Yahoo Finance Reese Witherspoon's production company valued at $900m in Blackstone deal
Reese Witherspoon has sold a majority stake in her female-focused production company in a deal that values the venture at about $900m (£650m).
Hello Sunshine, which produced the HBO drama Big Little Lies and The Morning Show for Apple TV+, was founded by the actress in 2016 to produce television series centred on female leads.
Its two biggest hits have both starred Ms Witherspoon, 45, who began acting as a teenager before becoming one of Hollywood’s biggest stars after starring in the comedy Legally Blonde and winning an Oscar in the Johnny Cash biopic Walk the Line.
Hello Sunshine said it had agreed to a takeover by an as-yet unnamed media venture backed by investment from Blackstone and led by former Disney executives Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs. The deal was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.
Mr Mayer was previously chairman of Disney’s consumer division, before a brief stint as operations chief at China's TikTok as it battled blacklisting by the US. He is also chairman of sports streaming business Dazn.
Blackstone will buy out existing investors including AT&T, although Ms Witherspoon and some Hello Sunshine executives will remain significant shareholders in the company. Ms Witherspoon will also join the new company’s board.
AT&T, the US telecoms company, has been selling off its media stakes after years of acquisitions, including carving off its $43bn WarnerMedia division in a sale to Discovery.
Ms Witherspoon’s company had been linked with interest from Apple, the Journal reported last month, but no deal resulted.
The Morning Show was one of the first shows on Apple’s streaming service and earned seven Emmy nominations but no wins. It is due to return for a second season next month.
Ms Witherspoon said: “I started this company to change the way all women are seen in media. Over the past few years, we have watched our mission thrive through books, TV, film and social platforms.
“Today, we’re taking a huge step forward by partnering with Blackstone, which will enable us to tell even more entertaining, impactful and illuminating stories about women’s lives globally.”
