Hudson Capital to buy original Warner studio for $130 million
The sale of KTLA-TV Channel 5's home is the first real estate transaction by the new management of Tribune Co.
The owner of Sunset Gower Studios in Hollywood has agreed to buy the original Warner Bros. studio a few blocks away that is now home to station KTLA-TV Channel 5, according to people who know about the deal.
Los Angeles investment firm Hudson Capital will pay $130 million to Tribune Co. of Chicago, which owns KTLA, the Los Angeles Times and other media outlets, the people said.
This is the first major sale of Tribune property since Chicago real estate mogul Sam Zell took over the company last month. Other asset sales are under consideration, according to company executives.
The sale to Hudson has been pending since late last year. Representatives of Hudson Capital and Tribune could not immediately be reached for comment.
Tribune announced in August that the studio, at the southeast corner of Sunset Boulevard and Bronson Avenue, was for sale. The block-size lot also houses Tribune Entertainment and Tribune Studios.
The property includes the prominent Colonial-style mansion facing Sunset that was built by Warner Bros. in 1919. Television shows filmed at Tribune's production facilities on the property -- but separate from KTLA -- include "Judge Judy," "Judge Joe Brown" and "Hannah Montana."
Hudson Capital bought Sunset Gower Studios, the former Columbia Pictures headquarters, in August for $200 million.
The investment firm was founded by Victor Coleman, former president of Arden Realty Inc., a Los Angeles office landlord. Arden was sold in 2006 to General Electric Co. for $3.2 billion. Sunset Gower Studios was Hudson's first major acquisition.
At the time, Coleman said he intended to pursue the acquisition of other independently owned studios. "I'm a big believer in real estate that already has operating businesses," he said.
Hudson Capital is expected to add office space to lease to serve entertainment industry tenants at the former Warner property. KTLA executives have said the station would remain at its current location as a tenant indefinitely.
The sale was pending before Tribune was acquired for $8.2 billion in December in a deal led by Zell. His representatives are studying the company's real estate assets, which he valued at about $2 billion.
The company's real estate assets include the former Times Mirror Square offices in downtown Los Angeles, the company's headquarters in the Gothic-style Tribune Tower in downtown Chicago and a waterfront printing and distribution facility in Baltimore.
roger.vincent@latimes.com
