Private investment platform Zello Group in August acquired Atwater Village-based Cinelease, a lighting and grip company that supplies rentals, expendables and sound stages to film, television and commercial productions.
The Burbank-based investment company bought Cinelease from Herc Rentals Inc. Herc Rentals, which bought Cinelease in 2017, reported to the SEC that it sold the rental business for an initial cash consideration of $100 million and agreed upon earn-out payments pursuant to a sale and purchase agreement
The acquisition is in line with Zello’s strategy to support infrastructure behind content creation.
“It’s a big opportunity,” said Louis Dargenzio, founder and chief executive of Zello. “The (Cinelease) team is great, the brand is very solid. Zello is coming up and leveraging our entertainment relationships – the major studios, the producer relationships, the crew.”
Cinelease, which was founded in 1977, will continue to operate as a standalone, privately held company backed by Zello.
“This marks an exciting new chapter,” said Mark Lamberton, president of Cinelease. “We’re a company built on service, relationships, and delivering when it counts – led by people with a deep understanding of what it takes to make it happen. Zello brings deep respect for our foundation and the operational scale to help us go even further for the entertainment community.”
Facing industry challenges
While Cinelease has been servicing the entertainment community for almost 50 years, the past five have proven challenging. The pandemic disrupted production starting in 2020 followed by fewer production orders during the 2023 strikes.
According to Business Insider, U.S. television and film production orders in early 2025 were down 20% year-over-year, while soundstage occupancy in Los Angeles fell to 63% in 2024 – the lowest level, outside of the pandemic, since 2018. But Dargenzio sees the downturn as an opportunity.
“I really believe we’re entering at what’s the bottom,” Dargenzio said. “There’s no institutional capital playing in this field. They’re spooked because if you look back at the last 12 months, it’s almost impossible to underwrite.”
Zello plans to support Cinelease by deepening its market presence. Dargenzio said that the current focus with the acquisition is to double down on North America and make Cinelease the “number one provider of grip and lighting equipment” in the region.
“As we gain steam there and our clients need us to expand, we’ll be opportunistic,” he said.
In addition to its Atwater Village base, Cinelease operates facilities in Georgia, New Jersey, New Mexico and Pittsburgh, giving it a rare national footprint at a time when content is produced across the U.S.
Market familiarity
Dargenzio is no stranger to the entertainment business – previously he founded and served as chief executive of Zio Studio Services from 2007 to 2021. Zio began as a transportation and logistics provider for productions and expanded into full-service studio support with grip and lighting rentals, production supplies, expendables. He sold the company to Hudson Pacific Properties, based in Westwood. After that he was president of Sunset Studios, overseeing sales, operations and strategic acquisitions.
Dargenzio is also an active investor and developer of real estate and has built a real estate portfolio, focusing on industrial and multifamily properties in Los Angeles. The portfolio includes more than 7 million square feet of real estate.
“I could see us expanding into other service lines and content creation itself,” said Dargenzio. “We have an interesting model we’re working on where we can help companies grow.”
