Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith‘s Westbrook Inc. has closed a deal to sell a minority stake to the media venture run by former Disney executives Tom Staggs and Kevin Mayer.

The company, which produces the popular “Red Table Talk” on Facebook Watch and backed the inspirational drama “King Richard,” was previously in talks to sell, until that deal collapsed in October. Mayer and Staggs are being financed by private-equity giant Blackstone Group. Last year, the venture made headlines when it purchased Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine in a deal valued at $900 million and followed that up with a $3 billion deal for Moonbug Entertainment, the children’s TV company behind “CoComelon” and “Blippi.”

Will and Jada Pinkett Smith’s media company, Westbrook, is making steep cuts amid a broader company restructuring, a major setback for a company that once declined offers to sell itself for around $600 million.

Last week, Westbrook announced a major reorientation of the company. According to two sources familiar with the changes, Westbrook plans on scaling back its digital media ambitions and focus specifically on television, film, and some entertainment marketing projects for Westbrook Studios — the company currently is working on several projects with major streamers and studios including Bad Boys 4, I Am Legend 2, Bel Aire, and Cobra Kai. Westbrook told staff last week that as part of the move, the president and COO were leaving the company, and it would be laying off another 26 employees. A source close to the company said that like many others in the entertainment industry, Westbrook has had to adapt to changing market dynamics and has decided to restructure its business to focus on what it specializes in. The company’s head of film and head of TV will continue to oversee its ongoing projects.

Westbrook was part of a group of celebrity-driven media and production companies that grew rapidly in recent years as tech and media companies engaged in an arms race to build competitive streaming companies.

J.P. Morgan became the first institutional investor in his VC firm, Hartbeat Ventures. Impressively, the bank committed its maximum allocation (amount undisclosed) under its Project Spark, a program that steers capital to diverse, female and veteran-led startups.

Focused on media, technology and lifestyle firms that also widen financial inclusion, Hartbeat Ventures has invested in Series B offerings including digital platform Snackpass, avatar creator Ready Player Me and wellness device maker Therabody.

In 2017, Hart founded Laugh Out Loud,[55] a global media and production company to provide opportunities for top comedic talent of all ethnicities worldwide.[56] Originally partnered with Lionsgate,[57] Hart became majority owner in 2019 after buying out most of Lionsgate's stake. LOL spans the full range of media channels, including digital, audio, linear and experiential, with four divisions: LOL Network, LOL Studios, LOL Audio and LOL X![58]

Hart has aggressively expanded LOL's reach since its founding, securing partnership deals with PlutoTV, Roku, Snap, Facebook, Peacock, and YouTube. In 2020, he extended his company's agreement with Sirius XM.[59] The network has launched successful programming, including Cold As Balls which has amassed over one billion YouTube views,[60] Kevin Hart: Lyft Legend, What the Fit, and Straight From The Hart. LOL has won numerous accolades, including nominations and awards from the Producers Guild of America, Critics' Choice Movie Awards, Realscreen, Streamy, and Webby.[61][62][63]

Known for content such as Cold As Balls, What the Fit, Die Hart, and more, the company has amassed more than 1 billion video views across its digital platforms and has worked with brand partners such as AT&T, Headspace, Lyft, Old Spice, P&G, and Viacom.[41]

Laugh Out Loud and production company Hartbeat Productions merged in April 2022, creating Hartbeat, which includes Hartbeat Studios, Hartbeat Media and Hartbeat Pulse.[64