Will Smith and his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, have announced the sale of a minority stake in their production company.
Variety reports that the Smiths have closed a deal that sells the minority stake of Westbrook, Inc., a production company, to the as-yet-unnamed media venture that is run by Tom Staggs and Kevin Mayer, the former executives from Disney. Staggs and Mayer previously made headlines when they purchased Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine production company for a gobsmacking $900 million.
The former Disney executives were represented by mega-financiers The Blackstone Group in the deal.
Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith were previously in talks to sell the production company outright until that deal fell through.
The minority stake in Westbrook, Inc., was purchased by the pair for $60 million, for a 10 percent ownership stake. And, Variety reports the deal values Westbrook, Inc. “at just under $600 million.”
As AfroTech previously reported, Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith made headlines with their production company when they named three Black executives to leadership positions.
Sterling Milan joined the company as the full-time head of original content. Jabari Hearn, who previously worked in a series of marketing roles at Lyft, Google, and Nike, joined Westbrook Media as senior VP of marketing for brand and entertainment.
Hearn is now working closely with newly-recruited executive Drew Miles — formerly with Variety — who is the senior director of business development and partnerships for Westbrook Media.
“Both Jabari and Drew have demonstrated their innovative approach to brand storytelling and partnerships,” Westbrook Media president Brad Haugen shared in a statement. “We are excited for the two of them to bring their ingenuity and prowess to the team as we continue to expand our growing marketing services and work with brands and entertainment partners to connect to their consumers in an impactful way.”
Congratulations are in order for Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith!
What Do We Know About Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith's Production Company?
Westbrook, Inc., is the production company that produces the smash hit Facebook Live show, “Red Table Talk,” as well as its spinoff, “Red Table Talk: The Estefans.” It also backed the recent smash hit film, “King Richard,” which starred Will Smith. Finally, they produce the Netflix hit show, “Cobra Kai,” which was just renewed for a fourth season.