LOS ANGELES — CBS Corp. has just scored a big cash payment for the sale of its 25-acre site in the heart of the Fairfax District.
Thanks to a definitive agreement announced following Monday’s Closing Bell on Wall Street, CBS Television City is being acquired by local real estate developer Hackman Capital Partners.
The deal is valued at a whopping $750 million, and allows Hackman Capital to use the Television City trademark in connection with its operations on the property.
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CBS programs will continue to be produced on the Television City campus for “at least” the next five years. Series produced at Television City include The Late Late Show with James Corden, The Price is Right, and venerable daytime dramas The Bold and the Beautiful and The Young and the Restless.
CBS will also retain office space for CBS Studios International’s U.S. headquarters and other company departments currently housed on the site.
“The sale of Television City unlocks significant value, increasing CBS’ financial flexibility, including the ability to redeploy capital for strategic growth initiatives such as additional content investment,” said CBS Corp.’s acting President/CEO, Joseph Ianniello. “At the same time, we will be transitioning this venerable site to a new owner who is committed to its legacy as both a cultural landmark and modern production facility. Hackman Capital has demonstrated terrific stewardship of classic properties, including their development of the landmark Culver Studios.”
Hackman Capital Partners CEO Michael Hackman added, “”The acquisition of the legendary Television City will add another crown jewel to our portfolio. We have had great success modernizing and transforming real estate into state-of-the art facilities for notable media, entertainment and content creation companies. With a tremendous operations team already in place, we envision an exciting future for this storied production studio.”
CBS owns the 40-acre CBS Studios Center in Studio City, in the San Fernando Valley. This will remain the company’s primary production facility. That campus is home to the broadcast network, CBS Television Studios and CBS O&Os KCBS-2 and KCAL-9.
The transaction is expected to close by early 2019.
The news came following a rough day on Wall Street for CBS, which fell $1.16 a share to $49.76. That’s the third-lowest closing price year-to-date for the company.
