English Entertainment
Hackman Capital Partners raises $1.6 bn to invest in TV & films studios globally
Mumbai: Hackman Capital Partners (HCP), a privately held real estate investment and operating company focused on acquiring and actively managing studio, media, and commercial real estate properties, announced on Friday the final close of the HCP Studio Fund (the fund). The fund closed on $1.4 billion of commitments, exceeding its initial target of one billion dollars and its initial cap of $1.25 billion. HCP also closed on the fund’s co-investment commitments of $200 million in equity capital, bringing the total committed equity capital to $1.6 billion. Investors in the fund comprise a mix of global institutions, including sovereign wealth funds, public and corporate pensions, insurance companies, endowments, foundations, and family offices, among others.
The fund is focused on acquiring studio and media assets with attractive in-place income and growth potential in top production markets across the world. to source investment opportunities and create value through property performance optimisation and strategic studio developments. In addition, HCP’s ownership of affiliate The MBS Group, a studio advisory, production, and equipment services company, will generate long-term cash flow through the provision of production services and stThe fund will leverage Hackman’s 35-year track record, deep industry relationships, and operational expertiseudio-based equipment rentals.
“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. We have built a unique and highly differentiated platform that has established Hackman as the premier owner and operator of independent film and television studios. Combined with our long standing industry relationships, we provide a sustainable competitive advantage, and are well capitalised to execute on a strong pipeline of investment opportunities,” said Hackman Capital Partners CEO Michael Hackman.
HCP is established as the preeminent independent owner and operator of studio and media assets, having invested over $8 billion since inception, including marquee studios such as The Culver Studios, Silvercup Studios, Kaufman Astoria Studios, Radford Studio Centre, and Television City Studios. HCP has created a powerful platform that provides production real estate and studio services to media companies including Amazon, Apple, ABC, CBS, Disney, HBO, Marvel, Netflix, Sony, Showtime, and Warner Brothers.
As of Q2 2022, the fund was approximately 50 per cent invested and committed. It has made seven investments for a total of $488 million of fund equity capital.
English Entertainment
Ellison takes his Paramount-Warner Bros case straight to theater owners
The Skydance chief goes to CinemaCon with promises and a skeptical crowd waiting
CALIFORNIA: David Ellison strode into a room packed with thousands of cinema owners and executives at CinemaCon in Las Vegas on Thursday and did something rather bold: he looked them in the eye and asked them to trust him.
The chief executive of Paramount Skydance vowed that his company would release a minimum of 30 films a year if regulators greenlight its proposed $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery, a deal that has made theater owners deeply, and loudly, nervous.
“I wanted to look every single one of you in the eye and give you my word,” Ellison told the crowd. “Once we combine with Warner Bros, we are going to make a minimum of 30 films annually across both studios.”
It was a confident pitch. Whether it landed is another matter. Cinema operators have already called on regulators to block the deal, and scepticism in the room was hardly concealed.
Ellison pushed back by pointing to recent form. Paramount, born from the merger of Paramount Global and Skydance Media last August, plans to release 15 films this year, nearly double the eight it put out in 2025. Progress, he argued, was already underway.
He also threw theater owners a bone they have long been chasing: all films, he pledged, would run exclusively in cinemas for a minimum of 45 days, drawing applause from a crowd that has spent years fighting for exactly that commitment across the industry.
“People can speculate all they want,” Ellison said, “but I am standing here today telling you personally that you can count on our complete commitment. And we’ll show you we mean it.”
Fine words. The regulators, however, will have the last one.
