Los Angeles, CA and NEW YORK, NY (September 30, 2020)—Hackman Capital Partners and Square Mile Capital announced today that they have acquired, through an affiliated entity, Silvercup Studios, a preeminent independent film and television studio in New York City. The acquisition, which includes the property’s operational components and equipment, is the seventh acquisition made by the joint venture’s media platform.
Founded in 1983 on the site of the landmark Silvercup Bakery, Silvercup Studios has grown to include three campuses in Long Island City and the Bronx covering 10.4 acres. The studio includes 23 soundstages totaling more than 240,000 square feet and 265,000 square feet of office and production support space. The studio offers its customers a full suite of support services and maintains its own inventory of lighting, grip and ancillary equipment through its affiliated lighting company, Silvertrucks, which has also been acquired as part of the transaction. The studio’s customer base includes major media and digital content producers.
The acquisition represents the Hackman Capital Partners/Square Mile Capital platform’s entry into the robust New York content production market. The venture has established one of the world’s foremost studio and media portfolios and global studio networks, which, in addition to Silvercup Studios, includes The Culver Studios, the historic 14.3-acre television and film studio in downtown Culver City and home to Amazon Studios; The Culver Steps, a recently-constructed 110,000 SF building also home to Amazon Studios, Television City Studios, the iconic former CBS broadcasting facility on 25-acres in the heart of West Hollywood; Manhattan Beach Studios, a 22-acre, state-of-the-art studio production facility in Manhattan Beach, CA; Second Line Stages, the only purpose-built studio in Louisiana; and The MBS Group, the industry’s leading studio operations company and provider of production equipment and services to more than 40 studios and over 300 soundstages globally. The portfolio has nearly $3.8 billion in studio and media assets including 60 soundstages and nearly 3.6 million square feet of space together with significant additional growth capacity for expansions.
Michael Hackman, CEO of Hackman Capital Partners, said, “As the leading independent owner and operator of studio properties, we are beyond thrilled to add the iconic Silvercup Studios to our portfolio of distinguished studio and media assets. We look forward to working closely with Silvercup’s founders as well as leveraging The MBS Group’s global platform to continue to provide a full suite of studio operations and ancillary services in New York to the world’s top content creators.”
Alan Suna, who will continue as Chairman of Silvercup Studios, said, “In 1983, my father Harry, brother Stuart and I started on this journey to build Silvercup Studios into one of the preeminent studios in New York. After 37 years, we sought to take on the right partner to help us further grow and develop the studio business as the industry has continued to thrive in New York City. After careful consideration, we chose the Hackman Capital Partners/Square Mile Capital Platform, including The MBS Group, because their leadership embodies the values that we hold dear, including retaining the dedicated team that helped us achieve so much success. As deeply experienced operators, they will help us continue the Silvercup legacy into the future.”
Craig Solomon, CEO of Square Mile Capital Management, added, “At inception our media platform set out to create the leading aggregation of institutional quality assets in this rapidly evolving industry, creating value through The MBS Group’s best-in-class operational capabilities. We are delighted to add iconic Silvercup Studios to our growing studio and media portfolio and carry forward the legacy and storied history that Alan and Stuart Suna artfully created while building Silvercup into one of the most preeminent studios in New York. Michael and I look forward to an exciting collaboration with the Sunas’ and their management team.”
Silvercup’s three studio locations—the Main Lot and East Lot in Long Island City, Queens and Silvercup North in the Bronx—each have a full slate of productions currently underway including among others, Emmy-award winning series HBO’s Succession and FX’s Pose.
David Lazarus and William Sherman of Eastdil Secured LLC in New York served as Exclusive Advisor to Silvercup Studios.
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About Hackman Capital Partners
Founded in 1986 and based in Los Angeles, Hackman Capital Partners is a privately-held real-estate investment and operating company that focuses on buying, renovating and re-imaging vintage commercial, industrial, and studio properties. Hackman Capital Partners began by acquiring industrial properties throughout the U.S. having owned through affiliated entities over 400 buildings in 41 states totaling 35+ million square feet.
With approximately 2,000 employees and studio staff, Hackman Capital Partners and its affiliate The MBS Group operate a global studio and media platform that acquires and services premiere studio, media facilities and related real estate opportunities in the top production markets around the world. The MBS Group is a collection of companies that provides content creators with a comprehensive list of services, including equipment, studio management, logistics, and production planning solutions for the dynamic and ever-changing landscape of the physical production world. The business spans the spectrum of physical locations for film, TV, and new media production services. The MBS Group exclusively services more than 40 studios and over 300 soundstages globally.
The HCP studio and media portfolio includes: The Culver Studios, The Culver Steps, Television City Studios, MBS Media Campus, Silvercup Studios, Second Line Stages and The MBS Group, the industry’s leading studio operations, production infrastructure and studio equipment provider, which is at the forefront of production innovation and technology and supports the top film and television content producers worldwide. Through its affiliates, HCP has nearly $3.8 billion in studio and media assets which includes 60 soundstages and nearly 3.6 million square feet of space together with significant additional growth capacity for expansion. The Company’s current portfolio is in excess of 8.5 million square feet.
For more information, visit www.hackmancapital.com.
About Square Mile Capital Management
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 our investors, partners, borrowers and counterparties. Square Mile Capital seeks to identify the impact of long-term trends on real estate values and target 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 our broad investment platform, product expertise and research resources.
For more information, visit www.squaremilecapital.com.
About Silvercup Studios
With its iconic sign visible from the East River, Silvercup Studios is the leading independent, full-service film and television production facility in New York City and the Northeast. Opening its first studio in 1983 in the former flour silo of the landmark Silvercup Bakery, Silvercup Studios has been home to famed television productions including HBO’s Sex and the City and The Sopranos, 30 Rock, and Gossip Girl. Current productions at Silvercup’s facilities in Queens and the Bronx include Succession, Manifest, Pose, and Prodigal Son among others. In its 37 years of operation, Silvercup has also hosted dozens of major motion pictures, including When Harry Met Sally and The Devil Wears Prada, as well as hundreds of commercials.
For more information, visit www.silvercupstudios.com.
Media Contacts
Hackman Capital Partners
Tyler Friedman
tfriedman@hackmancapital.com
Square Mile Capital Management
Rick Matthews
rmatthews@rubenstein.com
Silvercup Studios
Cara Gentile
cara@marinopr.com
