Brad Pitt’s Plan B, Mediawan Closes Deal for Majority Stake Sale (UPDATED)

Elsa Keslassy
·3 min read
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

UPDATED — Brad Pitt’s Plan B Entertainment has closed a deal sell a majority stake to Mediawan, the pan-European media conglomerate.

The parties issued a press release confirming they had entered into a “definite agreement” for Mediawan to buy a “significant stake” in Plan B. Under the pact, which values the company over $300 million, Plan B is also taking a stake in Mediawan.

More from Variety

Plan B Entertainment, which is run by Brad Pitt and Dede Gardner, hired Moelis & Co. to shop for a buyer or potential investors in October. The banner was founded in 2001 by Pitt and Jennifer Aniston shortly after the pair married. Pitt eventually took over the banner after the two divorced in 2005. Its credits include “The Departed,” “Moonlight” and “12 Years a Slave,” all of which won the Oscar for best picture. The company recently produced “She Said,” a look at the journalists who broke the Harvey Weinstein story, as well as “Blonde,” an off-beat drama about Marilyn Monroe.

Mediawan was founded in 2015 by Pierre-Antoine Capton, telecom billionaire Xavier Niel and Matthieu Pigasse. The company, which is financially backed by New York-based private equity firm KKR, has been ramping up its presence within the competitive English-language market through the acquisition (with Leonine Studios) of Drama Republic in the U.K. and recently announced a joint venture with “The Son” filmmaker Florian Zeller and former CAA executive Federica Sainte-Rose to launch an L.A.-based production vehicle called Blue Morning Pictures. As part of the alliance with Plan B, Mediawan will be creating a dedicated U.S. entity called Mediawan US to develop and coordinate all American projects.

“This partnership will allow us to create a unique artistic link between Europe and the United States through which we and Plan B will develop premium independent content, providing a global platform on which the world’s greatest talent can continue to thrive,” said Pierre-Antoine Capton, CEO and Co-Founder of Mediawan. “We would like to thank Brad, Dede, and Jeremy for their trust and recognition of the world-class content emanating from our work in Europe,” Capton continued.

Plan B partners Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, and Jeremy Kleiner, described Mediawan as an “innovative, artistic and producer-centric platform.” With Mediawan onboard, Plan B will “open a window to an even greater number of storytellers, both established masters and the emerging voices that have always excited us,” said Plan B partners.

“As we enter the next chapter in our evolution, we are excited at the possibilities this partnership affords as we maximize our reach toward an increasingly global audience with a broad range of films and television series across all platforms, genres, and mediums,” the trio continued. “For our current partner studios, along with those we look forward to working with in the future, we pledge to continue producing new content for audiences everywhere,” they added.

Mediawan already boasts a strong footprint in Europe with stakes in some of France’s most successful production banners, including Dimitri Rassam’s Chapter 2 (“The Three Musketeers”), Hugo Selignac’s Chi-Fou-Mi (“November”), ON Kids & Family (“Miraculous), Mon Voisin Production (“Call My Agent!”), and Italy’s Palomar (“The Name of the Rose”).

CNBC was first to report that a deal was imminent.

VIP+ Analysis: Inside Hollywood’s Content Fire Sale

Best of Variety

Sign up for Variety’s Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Click here to read the full article.