Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith have allegedly sold a minority stake in their media company, Westbrook, to previous Disney executives Tom Staggs and Kevin Mayer.
Westbrook — which creates Netflix’s hit series “Cobra Kai” and which supported “Ruler Richard,” the biopic featuring Will Smith as Richard Williams, the dad of tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams — had been in converses with Staggs and Mayer until the deal fell apart in October.
Sources told Variety that Staggs and Mayer’s endeavor paid $60 million for a generally 10% proprietorship stake. The arrangement values the company at just shy of $600 million.
Mayer and Staggs are being financed by private-value goliath Blackstone Group. Their media adventure stood out as truly newsworthy last year when it bought Reese Witherspoon’s production company Hello Sunshine in an arrangement esteemed at $900 million and followed that up with a $3 billion deal for Moonbug Entertainment, the kids’ TV organization behind “CoComelon” and “Blippi.”
Westbrook Inc. is involved a creation studio, Westbrook Studios, and an digital arm, Westbrook Media. Forthcoming undertakings for the company incorporate the action film “Emancipation,” which will show up on Apple TV+ and star Will Smith, just as the “Fresh Prince” reboot “Bel-Air’ that will debut one month from now on Peacock.