Candle Media confirms deal to buy ‘Fauda’ prodco Faraway Road

Fauda

Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs’ Blackstone-backed Candle Media has acquired Fauda prodco Faraway Road Productions.

The acquisition of the Israeli studio, which is also behind the series Hit And Run and the upcoming feature Siege Of Bethlehem, first emerged late last year and is the latest in a string of major expansions for the recently-named firm.

Launching in 2021, Candle has quickly established itself as a major player in M&A, just last week taking a minority stake in Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith’s Westbrook Studios for an undisclosed sum.

This followed a $900m deal for  Reese Witherspoon’s Big Little Lies producer Hello Sunshine in August 2021 and a staggering $3bn forked out for CoComelon outfit Moonbug in November.

Terms of the Faraway Road deal were not disclosed. The studio was founded by Lior Raz & Avi Issacharoff and is set to launch the fourth season of action thriller series Fauda on Israeli broadcaster Yes TV and global streamer Netflix later this year.

“Lior and Avi are world-class storytellers who produce exhilarating content that strikes a chord globally with audiences across cultures and languages.

“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,” said Mayer and Staggs, the former Disney execs who serve as co-chairmen and co-CEOs of Candle Media.