Candle Media, the rising media firm backed by non-public fairness agency Blackstone, is restructuring to chop prices.
The three way partnership, based in 2021 by former Disney executives Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs, has made a number of high-profile acquisitions in offset printing, together with Swiss Howdy Sunshine, the model produced by Reese Witherspoon. Three years on, free-spending content material patrons have returned to actuality (together with their particular person inventory costs).
sort Confirmed that Mayer and Staggs have begun consolidating their manufacturing operations into two verticals: Actuality present manufacturing will now be overseen by Howdy Sunshine CEO Sarah Harden, who can even stay at Weibo The Thurspoon Studios title; animation will now solely exist inside Candle-monetized MoonBug, the model behind household big CocoMelon.
Particulars of the associated fee cuts and potential job losses are unclear. Mayer and Staggs first revealed the brand new construction at a Semafor occasion final week.
Harden’s new studio will likely be referred to as Candle Studios. Her remit consists of Howdy Sunshine (producer of The Morning Present and Little Fires In every single place) in addition to banners similar to Exile, True Tales and Faraway Highway (“Fauda”).
In her Semafor speech, Mayer admitted that the timing of releasing $1 billion from Blackstone was slightly unhealthy.
“We’re paying the highest of the market/are the financials the way in which we wish them to need to assist the worth we’re paying? In all probability not,” he informed the publication, earlier than including, “Discuss to us in two or three years discuss.