Hudson Pacific Properties has purchased Quixote Studios, a West Hollywood-based production company that operates 23 soundstages across Los Angeles.
The Brentwood-based real estate investment firm paid $360 million for the production services and stage rental firm based at 1011 North Fuller Avenue, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
Mikel Elliott, who founded Quixote in 1995, will stay on after the acquisition by Hudson Pacific, led by CEO Victor Coleman.
Hudson financed the deal by borrowing $200 million from its credit facility, with an additional note to pay $160 million plus interest due in December 2023.
Quixote operates 23 leased stages in Los Angeles, three stages in New Orleans plus 425 trailers and motorhomes along with 70 studio trucks. Recent clients include Apple TV+’s “The Morning Show,” Paramount’s “Yellowstone,” Walt Disney’s “Jungle Cruise” and HBO’s “Insecure,” as listed in a presentation on the deal.
The company, which has 325 employees, operates soundstages in West Hollywood, Hollywood, Griffith Park, Pacoima, Sun Valley and Sylmar. In February, it ook over the lease for the Chandler stages in the San Fernando Valley, which hosted production on all seasons of NBC’s “The Office.”
The acquisition is the latest big deal for Hudson Pacific, owner of Sunset Bronson Studios, a Hollywood stage that Netflix leases, among its 63 current purpose-built stages. Its Sunset Studios transportation unit offers 832 trailer/motor homes, 281 studio trucks and 294 location service vehicles.
In September of last year, Hudson Pacific bought trailer mainstay Star Waggons and Zio Studio Services for $222 million.
The Quixote and Star Waggons deals follow a 2020 investment by private equity giant Blackstone, which acquired a major stake in Hudson Pacific with the stated aim for the firm to acquire studios in Los Angeles and other markets.
Hudson Pacific’s pitch to investors was that the Quixote deal offered scale and synergies to capture more of the $220 billion global production market. The deal also offers a geographic tie-in to the company’s operations in New York, Atlanta, New Orleans and Los Angeles.
“Combined 89 stages globally drives the ability to capture unmet demand for Sunset Studios by increasing stage capacity,” Hudson Pacific said in its presentation.
— Dana Bartholomew