LOS ANGELES & NEW YORK & TEL AVIV, Israel–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Candle Media (“Candle”), the next-generation media company led by top entertainment executives Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs and backed by investment capital from Blackstone, today announced the acquisition of Faraway Road Productions. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Founded by Lior Raz and Avi Issacharoff, creators of FAUDA and Hit & Run, Faraway Road Productions is a global media and entertainment company delivering high-impact, original stories to audiences around the world. FAUDA Season 4 is set to air later this year on YES TV in Israel and stream globally on Netflix. Other development projects underway include the film Siege of Bethlehem – which will be directed by Antoine Fuqua – and an unscripted spy thriller for Showtime with director Greg Barker.
Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs, co-presidents and co-CEOs of Candle, said:Lior and Avi are world-class storytellers who produce uplifting content that strikes a chord around the world with audiences of all cultures and languages. They are exactly the type of partners we and Blackstone seek to invest in – and we are excited to work with them to further accelerate Faraway Road’s growth trajectory.
Joe Baratta, Global Head of Private Equity at Blackstone, and David Kestnbaum, Senior Managing Director at Blackstone, said:We are proud to support Lior and Avi, who represent the highest standards in international media and entertainment. Content creation is one of our most compelling investment themes, and we believe elite talent such as the Faraway Road team is uniquely positioned to thrive in the increasingly digital media environment. more global today.
Lior Raz and Avi Issacharoff, co-CEOs of Faraway Road Productions, said:Faraway was founded to bring authentic and engaging international stories to global audiences. Our partnership with Kevin, Tom, Blackstone and the amazing creators who are part of the Candle family will allow us to dramatically accelerate this, while helping to create the next generation media company that puts creators first.
About Candle Media
Candle is an independent, user-friendly home for the builders of cutting-edge, high-quality, category-defining brands and franchises, built for the digital age. By bringing together elite talent operating at the intersection of content, community and commerce, it helps position leading entertainment companies for accelerated and sustainable growth in today’s market and beyond. The company acquired Hello Sunshine, the mission-driven media company that puts women at the center of every story it creates, founded by Reese Witherspoon; and Moonbug Entertainment Ltd., the world’s leading digital children’s entertainment company behind such popular shows as CoComelon, Blippi, Little Baby Bum; as well as a strategic minority investment in Westbrook Inc., the media company founded by Jada Pinkett Smith, Will Smith, Miguel Melendez and Ko Yada, is focused on empowering artists to tell stories that connect the world. Candle is led by its co-presidents and co-CEOs, top entertainment executives Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs, and backed by investment capital from funds managed by Blackstone’s flagship private equity firm.
About Blackstone
Blackstone is the world’s largest alternative asset manager. We seek to create positive economic impact and long-term value for our investors, the companies in which we invest and the communities in which we work. We do this by using amazing people and flexible capital to help companies solve their problems. Our $731 billion in assets under management include investment vehicles focused on private equity, real estate, debt and public equity, life sciences, growth capital, quality opportunistic credit lower, real assets and secondary funds, all on a global scale. Further information is available at www.blackstone.com. Follow Blackstone on Twitter @Black stone.
About Faraway Road Productions
Founded and led by award-winning creator, writer and actor Lior Raz and award-winning creator, writer and journalist Avi Issacharoff, Faraway Road is a global media entertainment company that develops and produces bold, impactful and engaging original content. In addition to creating original material, the duo and their team are responsible for bringing many deeply personal experiences of authentic voices from around the world to the screen. They give these voices a platform and adapt them into sophisticated character-driven stories that would otherwise go untold. Faraway Road oversees each of their projects, from concept to production and release, developing films and television series for the US, Israeli and international markets.
Faraway Road is best known for creating and producing the critically acclaimed series FAUDA, a political thriller that Raz also stars in, based on his time with Issacharoff in the Israeli Defense Forces special forces unit. . The series is one of Israeli television’s biggest hits, with all three seasons available to stream on Netflix and the fourth season in production. Also streaming on Netflix is the action-thriller series HIT & RUN starring Raz and Sanaa Lathan, which Issacharoff and Raz co-created with the award-winning team behind THE KILLING. Up next for Faraway Road is a solid slate of film and TV projects in various stages of development.
