In the second major Westside tech lease deal in recent weeks, video game giant Activision Blizzard Inc. has signed a 10-year renewal for 195,000 square feet in Equity Office Properties’ Santa Monica Business Park. While financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, industry sources pegged the value at between $55 million and $60 million.

The deal, which was reached on the eve of the expiration of Activision’s previous lease Dec. 31, was announced last week. The news follows the announcement last month that search engine giant Google Inc. is leasing more than 100,000 square feet of space in Venice, including the famed “binoculars building” designed by Frank Gehry.

But Google’s lease represents an expansion of its L.A. presence, while Activision renewed for about 10 percent less space. About a year ago, Activision announced 200 layoffs and the closure of a development studio in Santa Monica. The layoffs followed a fourth quarter 2009 loss of $286 million due in part to weak sales. Earlier this month, the company reported a $233 million fourth quarter 2010 loss and announced the shutdown of its “Guitar Hero” game division.

Nonetheless, the renewal is good news for Santa Monica. Activision had been reportedly looking at sites in El Segundo for its headquarters and major game development studios.

“This is an endorsement of the Westside as a quality environment for technology and entertainment companies to stay and grow,” said Frank Campbell, market managing director for Equity Office Properties, which represented itself in the lease negotiations.

Activision’s space is divided among two nonadjacent buildings in the 35-acre business park on Ocean Park Boulevard near Santa Monica Airport. The business park was built 30 years ago. Activision moved there in 1996, and despite the recent downsizing, the company remains the largest tenant, with 139,000 square feet in a headquarters building at 3100 Ocean Park and 56,000 square feet of game development studio space at 3420 Ocean Park.

Matthew Miller and Gerald Porter of Cresa Partners LLC represented Activision in the lease negotiations.

Shamrock HQ

The Burbank headquarters for Shamrock Holdings of California Inc., the Disney family investment arm, has been sold to New York-based Centurion Real Estate Partners.

While financial terms of the private transaction were not disclosed, industry sources estimated that the three-story, 37,000-square-foot building sold for between $10 million and $15 million.

Shamrock Holdings, which was founded in 1978 by the late Roy Disney, constructed the building at 4444 Lakeside Drive across from Warner Bros. Studios in 1984 to house its growing investment fund management operations. It was designed by the late architect Charles Luckman – who was noted for his work on the Aon Center in downtown L.A., the LAX Theme Building and Madison Square Garden in New York – with considerable input from Roy Disney. The building has extensive balconies, atria and wood paneling.

After Roy Disney passed away in December 2009, the Disney family and Shamrock directors gradually began to scale back the five investment funds. The directors decided to sell the headquarters building and lease back only one of the three floors. Rather than put the building on the market, the directors hired Bruce Stein, principal of Real Property Partners, to represent them in negotiations with their chosen buyer, a joint venture between Centurion and Five Mile. Centurion had previously bought another nearby property from Shamrock.

West L.A.-based portfolio lender Mesa West Capital LLC arranged $6 million in financing for the deal, which closed in late December. Five Mile Capital Partners LLC in Stamford, Conn., also participated. Some of that financing will go toward marketing the remaining two floors.

“This is a very prestigious office building with premium entertainment space,” Stein said.

Carl Muhlstein, executive vice president in the downtown L.A. office of Cushman & Wakefield Inc., represented Centurion.

Coldwell Changes

There’s change at the top of one of the largest residential brokerages in Los Angeles.

Betty Graham, Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage’s president in the greater L.A. region overseeing more than 2,000 brokers, has been named president of Coldwell Banker’s global luxury homes division. She’s taking the helm as luxury home sales have begun to rebound from the real estate crash.

Graham, 75, had built her reputation as a broker to movie stars in Malibu before joining John Douglas Co. and then Coldwell Banker when the latter bought Douglas in 1997.

Taking over Graham’s duties as L.A. residential brokerage chief is Jeff Culbertson, executive director of Coldwell Banker’s Southwest region, who adds Los Angeles to his existing Southern California and Arizona territory. He will be aided by Robert Foster, executive vice president of sales for Coldwell’s L.A. offices.

Howard Fine can be reached at [email protected] or at (323) 549-5225, ext. 227.