Featured image credit: Adam Fagen
If you didn’t believe big changes were coming for Hollywood, here’s your latest reminder. JEBS Hollywood Entertainment Investors, a commercial investment LLC, has just finalized the purchase of the world-renowned Dolby Theatre Hollywood. The theater is perhaps best recognized as the annual site of the Academy Awards. However, the investor supergroup plans to get their money’s worth out of their investment with an ambitious increase in programming.
Details of the Acquisition Deal
The California Public Employees’ Retirement System sold the Dolby Theatre Hollywood to JEBS for $50 million. The deal includes 1.5 acres of nearby parking lot space including a lot that is currently leased to the “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” show, filmed in a studio across the street from the theater.
With so many parties involved behind the scenes, the deal is unusually complex. The city of Los Angeles remains the owner of the land that the Dolby Theatre stands upon along with the Ovation Hollywood retail and entertainment mall encompassing it. However, the city is allowing JEBS to lease the land for $1 a year as part of a 99-year ground lease.
The Specifics of the Dolby Theatre Hollywood
Built in 2001 specifically with the Academy Awards in mind, the Dolby Theatre Hollywood is a 3,400-seat venue at 6801 Hollywood Boulevard. Currently, the theater hosts approximately 100 live events annually. JEBS has an ambitious plan to expand to triple that number Christopher Bonbright, managing director and principal for Avison Young (who represented JEBS in the transaction), confirmed to CoStar.
Maximizing Returns on a Theater Investment
JEBS investor Elie Samaha already owns several iconic nearby commercial properties including a duo of theaters that were renovated into nightclubs, the picturesque Yamashiro restaurant, and the TCL Chinese Theatre. By employing a similar business plan to the one they used to revitalize the Chinese Theatre, JEBS is determined to elevate the Dolby Theatre Hollywood to a venue of world-class distinction.
Capitalizing on the investment with increased event frequency may be a sage move according to the recent uptick in post-pandemic event attendance. Live Nation claims that Ticketmaster’s number of ticketed events increased 20% year-over-year with approximately 145 million people making ticket purchases in 2023. Likewise, Pollstar showed an 18% increase in ticket sales specifically for live music events in 2023. This is in the face of an average 23% pricing surge in concert tickets.
The Minds Behind the JEBS Investment LLC
As we mentioned, JEBS is something of a supergroup of commercial investors. Among its roster, it counts:
- Elie Samaha; film producer and head of JEBS
- Sheikh Abdulla Bin Mohamed Al Qasimi; CEO of an investment company and member of the Al Qasimi dynasty
- Robert Azinian; restaurateur
- Sherwin Jarol; CEO/Managing Member of a private real estate investment firm
- Jonah Lazowski; founder of a parking lot advertising company
- Jeff Sagansky; former president of Sony Pictures
Though JEB was not the only group vying for ownership of the Dolby Theatre Hollywood, they were the ones who managed to make it across the finish line with a solidly funded offer. But the theatre acquisition is just the introduction of their investment plan. They’ve already acknowledged that they will be looking into the acquisition of other assets in the Hollywood area.
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