Los Angeles (AFP)

Reese Witherspoon's production company, focused on women and notably behind the successful series "Big Little Lies", has been bought by an investment fund whose objective is to gain a place in the growing market streaming.

The majority investment by a new, unnamed media company backed by large investment firm Blackstone was announced on Monday and would value Hello Sunshine at $ 900 million, according to the Wall Street Journal and CNBC.

“I started this business to change the way women are portrayed in the media,” Reese Witherspoon said of Hello Sunshine, which also produced “The Morning Show” and “Little Fires Everywhere” series.

The agreement with Blackstone "will allow us to tell even more entertaining, impactful and uplifting stories about the lives of women around the world," she said in a statement.

The new media company is headed by two former Disney executives, Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs.

Its launch comes at a time when several Hollywood giants are looking to expand their streaming services, Netflix, Disney +, HBO Max or Amazon Prime Video being hungry for new content.

Reese Witherspoon, 45, won the Academy Award for Best Actress for "Walk the Line," released in 2005. In recent years, she has focused more and more on production, although she has also shared the screen with Jennifer Aniston in "The Morning Show", on Apple TV +.

Hello Sunshine is working on several films, including the third installment of the adventures of Elle Woods, made famous by "Revenge of a Blonde" in 2001 and played by Reese Witherspoon herself.

The company will also adapt the novel "Where the crayfish sing", which the actress had put forward in her book club, thus increasing sales.

She will continue to oversee the day-to-day management of Hello Sunshine with current boss Sarah Harden, according to a joint statement.

“We look forward to supporting Reese, Sarah and their world-class team as they continue to produce and identify dynamic and interesting content in the future,” said Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs, who are reportedly looking to acquire more. content creators to find a place in a market where competition is fierce.

In May, Amazon bought MGM Studios for $ 8.45 billion, giving itself a gigantic catalog to satisfy its streaming ambitions.

© 2021 AFP