Ex-Obama business head wants to buy Weinstein Co. and make it female led
Maria Contreras-Sweet, the former head of the Small Business Administration under President Obama, has put in the first bid for The Weinstein Company.
It was announced that the company was going to be put up for sale following the multiple allegations of sexual assault facing its founder Harvey Weinstein.
A deal with equity firm Colony Capital fell through earlier this month, but according to the Wall Street Journal, a deal with Contreras-Sweet would see a majority female board of directors taking over the film production company.
In a letter to the Weinstein board, she said that she’d been ‘profoundly affected by the recent revelations’.
“Reorganizing the Company as a woman-led venture will be an inspiration to the industry, and a new model for how an entertainment company can be both financially successful and treat all its employees with dignity and respect,” she added.
The new board would find Contreras-Sweet as the board’s executive chairwoman. There would also be a planned name change.
Deadline reports that the likes of A&E Networks, Lionsgate and MGM have expressed an interest in TWC’s assets, but this is said to be the first bid.
The company, which was formed by Harvey Weinstein and his brother Bob Weinstein in 2005, after the pair left their first company Miramax, following its sale to Disney.
It was responsible for making a wealth of acclaimed movies from Django Unchained to Silver Linings Playbook, along with TV shows like Project Runway.
Harvey Weinstein has been accused of over 100 instances of sexual assault and harassment following an exposé in the New York Times in October.
He denies the allegations of non-consensual sex.
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