Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs’ Candle Media confirms Faraway Road acquisition

Faraway Road’s Netflix original drama Fauda

Candle Media, the Blackstone Group-backed venture from former Disney execs Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs, has confirmed its previously reported acquisition of Israeli production house Faraway Road Productions.

The Tel Aviv-based company, founded by co-CEOs Lior Raz and Avi Issacharoff, is behind series such as Netflix originals Fauda and Hit & Run. Financial terms were not disclosed.

In its official announcement, released on Monday, Candle Media also said that Faraway Road is in development on a feature film called Siege of Bethlehem, to be directed by Antoine Fuqua, and an unscripted spy thriller for Showtime with Greg Barker attached to direct.

“Lior and Avi are world-class storytellers who produce exhilarating content that strikes a chord globally with audiences across cultures and languages,” said Mayer and Staggs, who serve as co-chairmen and co-CEOs of Candle Media, in a statement.

“They are exactly the type of partners we and Blackstone are looking to invest behind – and we are excited to work with them to further accelerate Faraway Road’s growth trajectory.”

Confirmation of the Faraway Road acquisition comes a week after Candle Media acquired a minority stake in Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith’s company Westbrook.

The Westbrook investment came on the heels of mega-deals to acquire Moonbug Entertainment for a reported US$3bn and Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine for a reported US$900m.