Netflix Plans Historic Purchase of Radford Studio Center in San Fernando Valley

The deal represents a potential consolidation of the streaming giant's real estate footprint in the San Fernando Valley and symbolizes how much the industry has changed since the studio was last sold for $1.85 billion in 2021.

The 55-acre studio lot, which has been home to landmark television shows including "Gunsmoke," "Seinfeld," and "Gilligan's Island," has been in limbo after its previous owner, Hackman Capital Partners, defaulted on a $1.1 billion mortgage in January.

The current owner, Goldman Sachs Group Inc., is leading negotiations with Netflix to sell the property for a fraction of its 2021 sale price. One person involved in the talks told Bloomberg the potential price is less than one-third of what was paid in the original 2021 transaction.

Hackman Capital Partners and Square Mile Capital Management originally bought the Radford Avenue property from ViacomCBS in 2021 for $1.85 billion after a competitive bidding war. At the time, the price tag highlighted the scarcity of TV soundstages in Los Angeles as streaming services scrambled for production space.

Since then, production has substantially declined in Southern California. L.A. has battled the loss of production to other states and countries, along with the lingering effects of the pandemic and the 2023 dual writers and actors strikes.

Netflix, which maintains a market cap of about $455 billion, has been consolidating its real estate holdings. The company currently rents about 1.5 million square feet of office and studio space in Hollywood, including space at Raleigh Studios on Melrose Avenue where it has agreed to be the anchor tenant through 2030.

Netflix had previously secured an $82.7 billion deal to buy Warner Bros. studios and streaming services in December 2025, but withdrew from the bidding war in late February 2026 after Paramount Skydance Corp. offered $31 a share. As part of the switch, Netflix was paid a $2.8 billion termination fee.

The Radford Studio Center has little office space beyond what is used to support production. Hackman had planned to add more soundstages and offices but never broke ground on those additions.

The studio lot was only 61 percent leased as of September, with about half of the remaining leases scheduled to expire through this year, according to mortgage filings.

Netflix currently leases space from Hudson Pacific Properties in Hollywood, with leases extending to 2032. The streaming company reported $12.3 billion in cash and equivalents in its most recent quarter after being paid a $2.8 billion breakup fee by Paramount Skydance Corp.

Representatives for Hackman Capital, Goldman Sachs and Netflix declined to comment on the planned sale.

The move would expand Netflix's presence into the San Fernando Valley. Netflix has production offices worldwide including facilities in Albuquerque, Brooklyn, London, Madrid and Toronto. The streaming service has historically leased rather than owned real estate, but has stepped up investing in studio lots.

This article was generated with AI assistance.