Hackman Capital Raises $1.6B to Fuel Studio Lot Buys
The real estate investment giant that runs landmark studio lots like Television City, Culver Studios, Kaufman Astoria Studios and Raleigh Studios is making plans to go on the acquisition hunt for more assets.
Hackman Capital, a Culver City-based firm, said on Wednesday that it had closed $1.6 billion in commitments for a fund will be used to buy studio assets with “attractive in-place income and growth potential” in leading production markets globally.
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“We are pleased to have completed this institutional capital raise for the studio and media strategy and are grateful for the strong support from our new investment partners,” stated CEO Michael Hackman. The firm did not disclose the names of those investors, adding that it was a “diverse mix” of institutions, funds, companies and offices.
As film and TV production has risen amid streaming growth — Morgan Stanley estimated that top Hollywood conglomerates would collectively spend $140 billion this year across entertainment and sports content on all platforms — soundstage space has been in-demand. (In Los Angeles, after hitting a high at the end of last year, shoot days in the second quarter of 2022 declined about 6 percent compared to the same quarter in 2021, per non-profit FilmLA, which tracks permits.)
Overall production growth has also led Wall Street firms to increasingly bet on studio lots as more attractive real estate propositions compared to office holdings in the COVID-19 era as remote work has proliferated. Since September, BARDAS Investment Group and Bain Capital Real Estate unveiled plans for a $600 million redevelopment of Television Center in Hollywood, with plans for four stages. And real estate investment giant Hudson Pacific acquired 23 more soundstages in L.A. with the $360 million acquisition of Quixote Studios.
Since 2019, Hackman Capital and its partners have snapped up CBS Studio City for $1.85 billion from Paramount Global, picked up Manhattan Beach Studios from The Carlyle Group in a $650 million deal, acquired Sony Pictures Animation Campus in Culver City and Scotland’s Wardpark Film and Television Studios, among other properties and studio lots. The company lists 18 studio facilities it runs, with 120 active soundstages.
Hackman said that its $1.6 billion studio fund is 50 percent invested, funding properties including Eastbrook & The Wharf Studios in London, Kaufman Astoria Studios in New York and Radford Studio Center in Los Angeles.
In his statement on the fund close, CEO Hackman added: “Combined with our longstanding industry relationships, we provide a sustainable competitive advantage, and are well capitalized to execute on a strong pipeline of investment opportunities.”
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