Hackman Capital Partners and its affiliate, MBS Group, will take over the day-to-day operational control of Raleigh Studios in Hollywood, California, as part of a strategic partnership between Raleigh, Hackman Capital and MBS.
The 10-acre Raleigh complex, which dates back to 1915, has 13 soundstages on a campus across the street from the Paramount Pictures lot, the original center for Hollywood production. It began under the name “Clune Stunes” as the home of the original United Artists upon its founding and being the backdrop for many well-known film and TV productions. In the 1980s, it upgraded its offerings, building some of the first soundstages in LA to be erected in decades.
With production booming with the advent of more streaming services, Raleigh Studios continued to be booked fairly solid despite the effects of COVID-19 grinding production to a halt last spring. The investors are taking the long-term view of how the entertainment ecosystem will rebound once the pandemic is quashed.
HCP and MBS will also take operational control of Raleigh’s Saticoy Studios, a 49,500-square-foot studio facility in Van Nuys, in the San Fernando Valley. Saticoy has two soundstages, office and production support space and is home base for the syndicated game show Let’s Make a Deal.
No financial terms for the arrangement were disclosed in the announcement.
Hackman and MBS have assembled a portfolio of production facilities, equipment and services in several cities, a roster that includes Culver Studios, where Gone with the Wind filmed and now home of Amazon Studios; Television City Studios, the former CBS broadcasting facility near the corner of Fairfax and Beverly; and New York City’s well-established Silvercup Studios. The company also controls MBS Media Campus in Manhattan Beach, CA, Second Line Stages in New Orleans, LA; and the currently under construction Eastbrook Studios in London.
In the statement announcing the merger, Hackman Capital Partners CEO Michael Hackman said, “As the world’s leading independent owner and operator of studio properties, we are delighted for the opportunity to have forged this relationship with Raleigh Studios and the Rosenthal family, which has been an incredible steward of this property for 41 years. We are excited to become part of the legacy of this historic property.”
Mark Rosenthal, CEO of Raleigh Studios and Raleigh Enterprises, added, “Both George Rosenthal, our Founder and Chairman, and I are thrilled about this strategic venture with Michael Hackman, his team and his partners. It feels like a homecoming as many of the key executives and managers of The MBS Group were formerly part of the Raleigh family, which makes the transition easy for our incredible Raleigh staff and our treasured tenants and clients.”
