Weinstein Company board told of bid interest
Len Blavatnik and Ron Burkle said to have expressed interest
Harvey Weinstein has told the board of The Weinstein Company that Len Blavatnik, the billionaire behind Access Industries, and the supermarket magnate Ron Burkle have expressed interest in exploring a bid for the movie studio.
Mr Weinstein told TWC directors at a meeting on Tuesday, when he officially resigned from the board. He was fired as chief executive last week following reports that he sexually harassed or assaulted multiple women over several decades, with stars such as Angelina Jolie and Gwyneth Paltrow among his accusers.
Mr Weinstein, who has entered an Arizona facility to be treated for sex addiction, has denied that any of his relationships were ever non-consensual.
The TWC board revealed this week that it was in talks with Colony Capital, the investment firm founded by Tom Barrack, over a sale of the company. Colony has also thrown a cash lifeline to TWC, which has been hit by a wave of cancelled projects following the allegations about Mr Weinstein.
It is unclear if Colony will be dislodged by another buyer. “We have several projects in The Weinstein Company library and we are following the situation closely,” said a spokesman for Mr Burkle’s Yucaipa Companies, adding that it had “not made any overtures” for TWC. Mr Blavatnik’s Access Industries declined to comment.
The TWC board is continuing to negotiate with Mr Barrack’s Colony. Mr Barrack has experience of the movie business, having bought Miramax, the company founded by Harvey and Bob Weinstein — Mr Weinstein’s brother and co-founder — from Walt Disney in 2005 for $660m. He later sold it to BeIN Media, the Qatari media group.
If Colony completes a deal, Bob Weinstein is likely to leave TWC, according to people briefed on the matter.
A representative of Harvey Weinstein has expressed concern about the talks with Colony. The representative contacted the board this week to say that all offers for TWC had to be considered and sought clarification on when the agreement with Colony was entered into.
Mr Weinstein, who called into Tuesday’s board meeting, first learnt about the talks with Colony when a friend told him they had seen press reports about the discussions on Monday, according to a person briefed on the conversation.
Both Mr Blavatnik and Mr Burkle are close to Mr Weinstein. Mr Blavatnik recently loaned TWC $45m, which was due to be spent on television productions.
Through Access Industries, Mr Blavatnik, a Ukrainian-born billionaire, has holdings in natural resources, real estate and media, including Warner Music, one of the top global record labels, and AI Films, an independent film finance and production company. He considered bidding for Hollywood studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 2011.
Mr Burkle, who made his fortune in grocery chains, was an investor in Relativity Media, the film studio that filed for bankruptcy in 2015.
The Weinstein Company has been struggling to ensure its survival in the wake of the scandal surrounding its co-founder, which has led to a wave of director resignations and investigations by police in the UK and New York.
Amazon and Apple have cancelled orders for TV series produced by the studio and top talent have told agents they do not want to be involved with the company. Last week the publisher Hachette closed its Weinstein Books imprint.