Fox owner Rupert Murdoch says he will keep the Fox studios on Pico Boulevard and lease it to Disney for seven years.
Billionaire media mogul Rupert Murdoch, who two weeks ago sold part of his Fox empire in a $52.4 billion deal to Disney, plans to keep the two-million square foot Century City based lot on Pico Boulevard.
In a conference call with employees, 21st Century Fox President Andrew Rice said Murdoch plans on keeping the 52-acre studio on Pico Boulevard, but would lease the property to Disney for seven years, Variety reported.
According to Rice, no employees will be moved from the site in the near future, but layoffs will eventually take place. “I’ve been here for 30 years, and I never in my lifetime thought that Rupert (Murdoch) would sell,” Rice reportedly said in the hour-long meeting.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Murdoch may be holding on to the lot because it’s an extremely valuable piece of real estate. Last year, Fox filed a proposal with the City Planning department to add over 1 million square feet of offices and sound stages over the next 20 years. However, there’s no indication at this point whether Fox intends to move forward with those plans.
