According to The Hollywood Reporter, Westbrook Inc. is in talks to be acquired by former Disney execs Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs, who also bought Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine for $900 million.
Perfect time to cash in. 2021 has been prime time for studios centered around celebrity figures. In July, I wrote about how LeBron James’ SpringHill Company is exploring a sale at a $750 million valuation. The potential sale is a bet on LeBron’s growing influence in media, especially once his NBA career ends and he devotes more time to his media ventures. The same is true for Reese, whose book club is full of content that’s bound to get optioned into TV, films, and mini-series.
For Will and Jada, this potential acquisition is a bet on their content and commerce flywheel. People see how the Smiths move. Investors would love to have a controlling stake in a hit show like Red Table Talk. When Will posted on Instagram, “I’m in the worst shape of my life,” it was the catalyst for a YouTube show about his fitness journey.
Owning Westbrook Inc is a bet on Westbrook Media’s FliP—fastlane IP— and its ability to deliver successful content on multiple levels.
Valuation guess? Here are some recent sales and valuations of studios:
MGM – $8.4 billion (bought by Amazon)
A24 – $3 billion (rumored in Apple deal)
Hello Sunshine – $900 million (bought by Mayer and Staggs)
SpringHill Company – $750 million (rumored target price)
Given this, I expect Westbrook Inc. to land between $1 – 1.5 billion. Westbrook Inc includes both Jada and Will Smiths, plus the connections to Jaden and Willow, and they’ve had several successful hits.
This is the creator economy, after all! Companies have invested billions in this, and there are few content creators bigger than the Smith family.
Read more in Trapital’s, How Will and Jada Pinkett Smith Built a Content and Commerce Powerhouse.
