December 14, 2022
On December 9, Willkie client Plan B Entertainment, an award-winning production company co-founded and led by Brad Pitt, announced that it entered into a definitive agreement for Mediawan, a leading independent premium content studio in Europe, to acquire a significant stake in Plan B.
The acquisition expands Mediawan beyond its core European markets into the U.S. and will be financed by Mediawan's shareholders including KKR, Atwater Capital, Bpifrance, MACSF and Société Générale.
Plan B's body of film work includes Moonlight (won Best Picture Oscar), The Big Short (nominated for Best Picture Oscar), Moneyball (nominated for Best Picture Oscar), Selma (nominated for Best Picture Oscar), 12 Years a Slave (won Best Picture Oscar), Vice (nominated for Best Picture Oscar), World War Z, Minari (nominated for Best Picture Oscar) and, most recently, She Said (prospective Oscar nomiee). Plan B has also has extensive experience producing premium television content, including The Underground Railroad, Outer Range for Amazon, and Sweetbitter for Starz.
The investment in Plan B will be made via a newly created entity, Mediawan US, which will coordinate Mediawan's activities and future developments in the U.S.
The Willkie team was led by partners Alan Epstein and Caleb Vesey and included partners Shane Nix and Bryan Kelly and associates Mark Vible and Justin Calabrese.
