The actress and entrepreneur is reportedly reclaiming her business at a fraction of the price she sold it for.
Reese Witherspoon. Photo: Getty Images
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Reese Witherspoon is making a Hollywood comeback of a different kind: buying back the media company she sold in 2021.
The award-winning actress and entrepreneur is partnering with French production studio Mediawan to buy Hello Sunshine, which she founded in 2016, from private equity-backed Candle Media. Witherspoon and her Hello Sunshine co-founder Seth Rodsky will join the company’s board along with representatives from Mediawan.
The deal, announced Tuesday, comes five years after Candle acquired a majority stake in Hello Sunshine in a transaction that valued the business at approximately $900 million.
Although Witherspoon and Mediawan did not disclose the deal’s financial terms, the purchase price is reportedly in the low to mid-eight-figures, according to TheWrap. The two figures aren’t directly comparable, however, because the original valuation reflected the entire company and precise ownership terms of the new transaction remain unclear.
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The buyback marks a new chapter for Witherspoon’s media corporation and shows just how much Hollywood’s business landscape has changed since the height of the streaming boom.
Witherspoon founded Hello Sunshine with backing from entertainment executives Peter Chermin and Jesse Jacobs through The Chemin Group, aiming to build a production company focused on elevating women’s stories. The business has since produced popular titles including the film Where the Crawdads Sing and television series Big Little Lies, The Morning Show, and Daisy Jones & The Six.
Hello Sunshine also operates Reese’s Book Club, which has millions of followers online and often helps turn novels into film and television adaptations.