Michael Hackman

Founder, CEO, Hackman Capital Partners

 Hackman is pressing ahead with studio expansion at a time when the industry is under strain.

He’s the largest owner and operator of independent film and television studios, including Television City, which is slated for a $1 billion expansion. He started Hackman Capital Partners in 1986, and it now has $10 billion invested in more than 330 properties for a total of approximately 37 million square feet across North American and Europe. 

His company recently scored $165 million refinancing for Netflix-leased studio — but may lose another, Radford Studio Center, to lender Goldman Sachs, which is leading a takeover of the iconic lot after Hackman defaulted on a $1 billion loan.

Filming in Los Angeles remains in a slowdown touched off by the 2023 dual writers’ and actors’ strikes and the rise of cheaper production abroad. The result lately has been sky-high vacancies and depressed rents for studios. The consolidation of a Warner Bros.-Netflix match would likely mean even less demand for studio space. 

Hackman’s bid for crown jewel at Television City has garnered a prominent opponent in the Grove, owned by Rick Caruso, in a battle of bold-face names that could play out against a backdrop of the mayoral or gubernatorial race this year.