Candle Media, the Blackstone-backed media company founded by former Disney executives Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs, has sold a majority stake of its digital media company ATTN: back to its co-founders.
The deal will see ATTN: co-founders Matthew Segal and Jarrett Moreno, who founded the company in 2014, independently lead their company. The two bought the majority stake in the millenial and Gen Z-focused company alongside a suite of original investors, including Fenway Sports chairman Tom Werner and Main Street Advisors CEO Paul Wachter. The purchase also included a new group of investors, which included former Paramount Global chair Shari Redstone and Andell Holdings chairman Andrew Hauptman, according to a source familiar with the matter.
ATTN: will maintain its headquarters in Los Angeles and New York City. Candle Media will retain a minority stake in the business.
The sale comes after Mayer told Axios in June that he planned to sell or take public the company‘s individual brands, which include Reese Witherspoon’s production company Hello Sunshine and Moonbug, the children’s entertainment company behind “CoComelon” and “Blippi.”
“We’ve valued our partnership with Matthew, Jarrett, and the entire ATTN team, and we wish them continued success as they lead the company into its next chapter,” Mayer and Staggs said in a statement.
“This next chapter allows us to continue building ATTN: with the same focus and values that have defined the company since day one: bringing category expertise to a human population whose attention spans are shrinking,” Segal and Moreno said in a statement. “As part of this expansion, we’re also excited to incubate new digital brands we’ll be announcing soon. We thank Candle for being a strategic and supportive partner, and in helping create a strong foundation from which we will continue growing the business moving forward.”
Candle Media acquired ATTN: in 2022 for $100 million and retained Segal and Moreno. The company, which includes a social media agency and a brand studios division, specializes in branded content and advocacy videos. It has worked with businesses such as TikTok and produced video shows for former Presidents Barack Obama and and Joe Biden.
