King Street, AIMCo and a Sovereign Wealth Fund Establish Joint Venture with East End Studios to Meet the Demand for Production Studios
New York – King Street Capital Management, L.P. ("King Street"), in partnership with Alberta Investment Management Corporation on behalf of certain of its clients ("AIMCo") and a sovereign wealth fund, announced the creation of a joint venture working alongside East End Studios to acquire and develop Class A production studios to meet the exploding demand for content creation. The initial projects include three locations in the Greater Los Angeles area with a total capitalization over $500 million and projected delivery of approximately 750,000 square feet of stage and related ancillary space.
The partnership will target existing facilities, along with redevelopment and development opportunities, in an effort to consolidate a world class portfolio of production stages. While the initial projects include two locations in Glendale, CA and a third in Downtown Los Angeles, the joint venture is targeting opportunities in other major U.S. film hubs, as well as seeking opportunities in established international markets.
David Walch, Partner at King Street, said, "We are pleased to have created this venture with AIMCo and our sovereign wealth fund partner, and are delighted to join forces with East End Studios to create best-in-class space for the entertainment industry. As an active real estate investor, we are drawn to the supply-demand imbalance in the studio sector which we identified through our industry relationships and expertise. We look forward to leveraging our extensive experience to successfully reposition real estate assets in the studio sector."
"We are thrilled to have such highly regarded institutions partner with us to meet the accelerating demand for content creation and required production space," said Shep Wainwright, a Partner at East End Studios. Craig Chapman, also a Partner, commented, "We will draw on our 20 plus years of film/TV production and studio management experience to ensure that our facilities meet the future needs of our clients as the industry continues to evolve."
Ian Woychuk, Director, Real Estate at AIMCo, added, "Streaming services continue to experience rapid growth with a number of new players entering the market, a trend that has only accelerated during the pandemic. The pace at which technology is advancing in this field has enabled more production to occur in sound stages, driving an enormous demand for modern studio facilities. We believe the joint venture is well positioned to capitalize on this trend in core media markets globally."
About King Street
King Street is a global alternatives investment firm founded in 1995 that manages approximately $20 billion in assets across public and private markets. The firm marries rigorous fundamental research with tactical trading and exceptional sourcing capabilities to identify misunderstood and complex investment opportunities across asset classes, up and down the capital structure and in geographies where it has an edge through its deep expertise in credit, restructurings, bankruptcies and other event driven situations. For more information, please visit www.kingstreet.com.
About Alberta Investment Management Corporation
AIMCo is one of Canada's largest and most diversified institutional investment managers with more than $150 billion of assets under management. AIMCo invests globally on behalf of 32 pension, endowment and government funds in the Province of Alberta.
For more information on AIMCo please visit www.aimco.ca or follow us on LinkedIn or Twitter.
About East End Studios
East End Studios is a private equity backed growth platform with teams dedicated to real estate acquisitions, financing and development, as well as studio management and leasing. The partners at East End Studios have over 20 years of film/TV production and studio management experience across all types of facilities in the United States, and have executed over $20 billion of real estate transactions. East End Studios is headquartered in Los Angeles, CA with an office in New York City.