A firm led by two former Walt Disney Co. executives has agreed to buy a stake in Will Smith and Jada Pinkett-Smith’s media company, people familiar with the matter said, the latest in a series of high-profile acquisitions for the Blackstone Inc.-backed entertainment venture.
The Blackstone-backed firm, which has yet to announce a name for itself and is run by former Disney executives Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs, is paying about $60 million to acquire more than 10% of Westbrook Inc., the people said.
Founded in 2019, Westbrook’s projects include “King Richard,” a biopic that chronicles the life of Richard Williams, the father of tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams. Other projects from Westbrook include the “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” reunion on HBO Max, “Red Table Talk,” a show on Facebook Watch featuring Ms. Pinkett Smith, her daughter Willow Smith and her mother, Adrienne Banfield-Norris.
The Westbrook deal is the latest in a series of acquisitions in recent months for Messrs. Mayer and Staggs’s venture.
In November, the firm said it was buying Moonbug Entertainment Ltd., the company behind hit children’s shows “CoComelon” and “Blippi,” for about $3 billion. In August, it said it was spending $900 million to acquire Hello Sunshine, the media company founded by Reese Witherspoon.
Mr. Mayer said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal in August that he and Mr. Staggs were creating a new entertainment company for Hollywood’s streaming era. Some media companies are reluctant to license shows and movies to rivals, Mr. Mayer said, creating an opportunity for a new independent player.
Write to Benjamin Mullin at [email protected] and Miriam Gottfried at [email protected]
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