UPDATE (Nov 5, 2 a.m. PT): It’s official: Mayer and Stagg’s Blackstone-backed company will purchase Moonbug. The valuation of the deal was not confirmed. Moonbug founders René Rechtman (CEO) and John Robson (COO), as well as existing management team and shareholders, will retain equity stakes in the company, which is as yet unnamed. The headline has been updated accordingly.
Earlier (Nov 4, 8:30 a.m. PT): Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs, two former high-ranking Disney executives, are nearing a deal to buy kids’ entertainment company Moonbug Entertainment for around $3 billion, sources close to the negotiations have told The Information.
The pair launched a company backed by private-equity firm Blackstone Group earlier this year, then bought Reese Witherspoon’s studio Hello Sunshine for approximately $900 million. Moonbug would be their second big purchase, but the sources note that the deal could still fall apart.