NEW YORK, Nov. 30, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- ViacomCBS Inc.
(NASDAQ: VIAC, VIACA) today announced it has entered into a
definitive agreement to sell CBS Studio Center and its associated
operating business to a partnership formed by Hackman Capital
Partners, LLC and Square Mile Capital Management, LLC for
approximately $1.85 billion.
The transaction is the result of a widely marketed sale process,
which attracted interest from a number of buyers, reflecting the
value of CBS Studio Center as a
best-in-class studio lot in the highly competitive Los Angeles studio marketplace. The property
sits on a 55-gross-acre site in Studio
City and consists of over 1 million square feet of space,
including 22 stages, production office and support buildings,
third-party tenant offices, a purpose-built broadcast center and
filmable backlot locations.
"This sale is part of an ongoing optimization of ViacomCBS' real
estate and operations portfolio and will allow the company to
re-deploy capital to strategic growth priorities, including
streaming," said Naveen Chopra, EVP
and Chief Financial Officer, ViacomCBS.
At closing, CBS Broadcasting Inc. will enter into a long-term
lease-back of the Broadcast Center, which is home to television
stations CBS 2 and KCAL 9. ViacomCBS will continue to occupy
stages and produce content on the lot, as well as enter into a
short-term lease-back of certain portions of the property in order
to manage the transition of ViacomCBS employees to other
locations.
"We're honored to have been selected as the new stewards of CBS
Studio Center, one of the most celebrated and successful studios in
Los Angeles," said Michael Hackman
Founder and CEO of Hackman Capital Partners. "The studio has been a
hit maker from the days of Gunsmoke, Mary Tyler Moore, and Seinfeld, and
we're thrilled to continue our ongoing relationship with ViacomCBS
to service its many successful shows currently filmed on the
lot."
"CBS Studio Center is an iconic property that has been home to
many of television's legendary programs over the years," said
Square Mile Capital CEO Craig
Solomon. "With ViacomCBS maintaining an important presence
at the property, we anticipate a smooth ownership transition and
many more great years ahead."
The transaction is expected to close in 2021, subject to
customary closing conditions, including regulatory approval.
Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward-Looking
Statements
This communication contains both historical and forward-looking
statements, including statements related to our future results and
performance. All statements that are not statements of historical
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actual results, performance or achievements to be different from
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implied by these statements. These risks, uncertainties and other
factors include, among others: changes in consumer behavior, as
well as evolving technologies, distribution platforms and
packaging; the impact on our advertising revenues of changes in
consumers' content viewership, deficiencies in audience measurement
and advertising market conditions; our ability to maintain
attractive brands and our reputation, and to offer popular
programming and other content; increased costs for programming,
films and other rights; competition for content, audiences,
advertising and distribution; the potential for loss of carriage or
other reduction in or the impact of negotiations for the
distribution of our content; losses due to asset impairment charges
for goodwill, intangible assets, FCC licenses and programming; the
risks and costs associated with the integration of the CBS
Corporation and Viacom Inc. businesses and investments in new
businesses, products, services and technologies, including our
streaming initiatives; evolving business continuity, cybersecurity,
privacy and data protection and similar risks; content
infringement; the impact of COVID-19 (and other widespread health
emergencies or pandemics) and measures taken in response thereto;
domestic and global political, economic and/or regulatory factors
affecting our businesses generally; liabilities related to
discontinued operations and former businesses; the loss of key
talent and strikes and other union activity; potential conflicts of
interest arising from our ownership structure with a controlling
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filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including but
not limited to our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and
reports on Form 10-Q and Form 8-K. There may be additional risks,
uncertainties and factors that we do not currently view as material
or that are not necessarily known. The forward-looking statements
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communication, and we do not undertake any obligation to publicly
update any forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events
or circumstances.
ABOUT VIACOMCBS
ViacomCBS (NASDAQ: VIAC; VIACA) is a
leading global media and entertainment company that creates premium
content and experiences for audiences worldwide. Driven by iconic
consumer brands, its portfolio includes CBS, Showtime Networks,
Paramount Pictures, Nickelodeon, MTV, Comedy Central, BET,
Paramount+, Pluto TV and Simon & Schuster, among others. The
company delivers the largest share of the U.S. television audience
and boasts one of the industry's most important and extensive
libraries of TV and film titles. In addition to offering innovative
streaming services and digital video products, ViacomCBS provides
powerful capabilities in production, distribution and advertising
solutions.
For more information about ViacomCBS, please visit
www.viacomcbs.com and follow @ViacomCBS on social
platforms.
ABOUT HACKMAN CAPITAL PARTNERS LLC
Founded in 1986,
Hackman Capital Partners is a privately-held investment and
operating company based in Los
Angeles. The company began with a focus on the industrial
real estate marketplace, where it amassed a national portfolio of
more than 400 buildings totaling over 35 million square feet. As
the demand in urban markets began to increase, Hackman Capital
quickly pivoted, and by 2007, it emerged as an early pioneer of
transforming vintage industrial warehouses into creative office
space for media and high-tech tenants.
The company entered the highly competitive film and television
studio arena in 2014, with the purchase of The Culver Studios and
its subsequent Innovation Plan. Today, its portfolio also includes
Television City, MBS Media Campus, Silvercup
Studios, Kaufman Astoria Studios, Second Line Stages,
Raleigh Studios, Sony Pictures Animation Studios,
Ardmore Studios, Troy Studios, Eastbrook Studios
London and The Wharf London.
Across its projects, Hackman Capital is committed to building
authentic and enduring relationships with the local communities in
which it does business. In 2020, Hackman Capital launched its
"Changing Lenses" initiative at Television City, which promotes
diversity, equity, and inclusion in the entertainment industry.
Through partnerships with organizations, industry leaders, and
community stakeholders, "Changing Lenses"provides mentorship, job
training opportunities, and career pathways to sustained employment
to historically unrepresented voices in media.
In addition to owning and operating its own studio assets,
Hackman Capital and its affiliate The MBS Group design, develop and
build studios; manage studios for other studio owners; and provide
global studios and content creators with comprehensive production
services and studio-based equipment rentals. The MBS Group is an
industry-leading, best-in-class operations and production services
business with more than 850 employees and 65+ locations across six
countries, servicing over 380 sound stages and more than 400
productions per year. For more information, visit
www.hackmancapital.com.
ABOUT SQUARE MILE CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LLC
Square Mile
Capital Management LLC is an integrated institutional real estate
and investment management firm based in New York. The firm has an established history
of successful investing in commercial real estate at all points in
the market cycle. Square Mile Capital's experience supplying
flexible equity and debt capital solutions in diverse property
sectors and across the risk spectrum, combined with its integrated
national sourcing and investment platform, facilitates the creation
of value for its investors, partners, borrowers and counterparties.
Square Mile Capital seeks to identify the impact of long-term
trends on real estate values and targets its equity investments on
key investment strategies likely to benefit from such trends.
The firm's commercial real estate debt platform provides customized
capital solutions for real estate owners and developers throughout
the United States utilizing its
broad investment platform, product expertise and research
resources. For more information, visit
www.squaremilecapital.com.
VIAC-IR
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SOURCE ViacomCBS Inc.