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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 expected to be announced this weekend, according to people familiar with the matter.
The deal, which was signed, values Plan B in the hundreds of millions but below $500 million, said the people, who asked not to be named as the discussions are private. Neither Plan B nor Mediawan responded to requests for comment.
Pitt, the Oscar-winning star of movies like ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’ and ‘Fight Club,’ founded Plan B in 2001 with his ex-wife Jennifer Aniston and then-manager Brad Grey, who died in 2017 Pitt became the sole owner after his divorce from Aniston.
The production company has helped make movies and TV series over the past two decades, including Oscar-winning films like “The Departed” and “12 Years a Slave.” He produced several films released this year, including Netflix’s “Blonde,” a fictionalized version of Marilyn Monroe, and “She Said,” which details the New York Times investigation into sexual assaults in Hollywood.
For television, Plan B’s productions have included the 2014 adaptation of HBO’s “The Normal Heart,” directed by Ryan Murphy, and the 2021 Amazon Prime Video miniseries “The Underground Railroad.”
Independent production studios have become hot acquisition properties as major media companies expand 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 valuing 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 United States. It owns more than 60 production labels and was co-founded by President Pierre Antoine-Capton.
The boutique investment bank Moelis led the Plan B sale. A spokesperson for Moelis declined to comment.
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