A Force in Hollywood’s Private-Equity Boom Adds a Spanish-Language Company

Candle Media, the private-equity-backed company that has invested in firms founded by Hollywood stars such as Reese Witherspoon, has settled on its latest target: Exile Content Studio, a producer of Spanish-language films, TV shows and podcasts.

Candle Media, which is run by Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs, former senior executives at the Walt Disney Company, said on Monday that it was acquiring Exile in a cash-and-stock deal. Exile’s management team, which includes its founder and chief executive, Isaac Lee, will join Candle Media.

Executives from Candle Media and Exile declined to disclose the price of the deal. The combined value of Candle Media’s deals, which are bankrolled by the private equity firm Blackstone, so far total around $4 billion, according to a person with knowledge of the business who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the deal.

In an interview, Mr. Staggs said he and Mr. Mayer had zeroed in on Exile because the company would help Candle Media reach the growing audience of Spanish speakers, which he said numbered more than 550 million globally. He said the company’s breadth of content — across streaming, traditional television, podcasts and music — was also a selling point.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/23/business/media/candle-media-exile.html