Exclusive: Candle Media sells ATTN: back to its co-founders
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ATTN: co-founders Matthew Segal and Jarrett Moreno. Photos: Jerritt Clark/Getty Images for ATTN: & AT&T, Amy Sussman/Getty Images
Candle Media, the media rollup company backed by Blackstone, has sold a majority stake in digital media company ATTN: back to its co-founders Matthew Segal and Jarrett Moreno, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: The deal empowers Segal and Moreno, who continued to lead the company under Candle Media's ownership, to reinvest ATTN:'s profits back into the company they started and drive a new phase of growth.
- It also signals a strategy shift for Candle Media.
- When Candle Media was created, it aimed to eventually take its house of media and production brands and spin it out publicly or sell it as one entity.
- Last year, Candle Media co-CEO Kevin Mayer told Axios he instead planned to sell or take public Candle Media's brands individually.
Zoom in: Segal and Moreno have acquired majority ownership of ATTN: alongside a new investor group that includes big names in the media and entertainment industry.
- Investors in the acquisition include ATTN:'s original backers, such as Fenway Sports chair Tom Werner and Main Street Advisors CEO Paul Wachter, as well as new investors like former Paramount Global chair Shari Redstone and Andell Holdings chair Andrew Hauptman.
Between the lines: Candle Media will maintain a minority stake in ATTN:, the company said in a statement.
- "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," said Mayer and Tom Staggs, Candle Media co-CEO.
- In a statement, Segal and Moreno thanked Candle Media "for being a strategic and supportive partner, and in helping create a strong foundation from which we will continue growing the business moving forward."
Catch up quick: ATTN: was acquired by Candle Media in a 2022 deal valued around $150 million.
- ATTN: was profitable at the time, mostly making money from licensing original content, consulting and producing branded content.
- The company's existing senior management team, including co-founders Segal and Moreno, stayed on after the acquisition, continuing to oversee ATTN:'s day-to-day operations.
- Founded in 2014, ATTN: creates social change content for millennials and Gen Z. It made a name for itself making viral advocacy videos that featured prominent political voices, such as Michelle Obama and Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Zoom out: Candle Media raised around $2 billion from Blackstone in 2021. It used that money to acquire a slew of media and production companies, including Reese Witherspoon's Hello Sunshine and Faraway Road Productions, the content studio behind "Fauda."
- The raise saddled Candle Media with debt, which it was forced to pay down with profits from its most lucrative properties, including ATTN: and children's YouTube brand Moonbug.
What's next: Segal and Moreno plan to incubate new digital brands into ATTN:, they said in a joint 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 joint statement.
- ATTN: will continue to maintain its headquarters in Los Angeles and New York City.
