Soundstage operator Shadowbox Studios announced a strategic $500 million investment from tech investor Silver Lake to help fund existing development projects in Atlanta, London and LA — projects with over $1.5 billion of expected capital investment.
Silver Lake will partner with existing investor Commonwealth Asset Management, which remains the majority shareholder.
“The combination of Shadowbox’s premier facilities in tier one production hubs and deep relationships across the production landscape allows the company to support the world’s top content producers as they grow their businesses,” said Lee Wittlinger, managing director at Silver Lake, who has joined Shadowbox’s board along with Silver Lake director Chip Schroeder.
“Consumer demand for premium film and TV content, coupled with the growing number of producers, has driven outsized demand for soundstage capacity. There is a long runway for the growth of the overall industry, and we are thrilled to partner with Shadowbox to expand the company’s service offerings and deliver premium soundstage facilities in the top global production markets.”
Shadowbox currently operates an 850,000 square foot studio facility with nine soundstages in Atlanta that has been home to Jumanji: The Next Level, Jungle Cruise and Godzilla: King of the Monsters. It’s also developing an additional 1.2 million square foot space including 22 new soundstages. Upon completion of this expansion, Shadowbox’s footprint in Atlanta will total 31 soundstages and exceed two million square feet.
In London, it recently completed the initial 150,000 square foot phase of its nearly one million square foot Shinfield Studios project in the United Kingdom, which is fully leased to one of the world’s largest content creators. Following completion of the remaining development, the company will operate 18 stages in the London area.
And in the LA metro area, it’s currently developing a 19 soundstage, approximately 1.3 million square foot purpose-built studio campus in Santa Clarita.
Including these, the company will own and operate a portfolio of 68 soundstages and over 4.2 million square feet of leasable area, making it one of the largest operators in the sector.
It also provides productions with lighting and grip rentals through wholly owned subsidiary, Lamp Dock, as well as other on-lot services.
“Supporting large-scale productions with best-in-class service is Shadowbox’s bread and butter. From the company’s roots as a single site operator, we have worked with local communities in the Atlanta, London, and Los Angeles areas to develop more spaces where content creators can express themselves while also providing hundreds of jobs to local markets,” said Adam Fisher, Founder and CEO of Commonwealth Asset Management and a director of Shadowbox.
“Our partnership with Silver Lake represents a major step forward for our Shadowbox platform, not only by providing significant growth capital for the business, but also by expanding our relationships in the entertainment and technology communities which are integral to Shadowbox’s future.”
