Friendly takeover in Malibu
Billionaire Larry Ellison has purchased five residential beachfront properties in Malibu for a total value of about $65 million, one of the largest private-home transactions in Los Angeles County history.
Ellison, chairman and chief executive of Oracle Corp., is based in Northern California, where he has been having a 23-acre compound built to resemble a 16th century Japanese villa. It’s in the hills of Woodside, 30 miles south of San Francisco.
It isn’t clear what Ellison’s plans are for his collection of Malibu properties, but it is anticipated that he will create a compound there. Local Realtors said that he is remodeling at least one of several houses and that he bought one house just for its pool. Kurt Rappaport of Westside Estate Agency, who represented Ellison in the deals, declined to comment.
Ellison’s Malibu properties are in a neighborhood of homes owned by such well-known personalities as David Geffen, Courteney Cox, Richard Riordan, Terry Semel, Eli Broad, Jeffrey Katzenberg and Haim Saban.
Ellison, 59, has a net worth of $18 billion, according to Forbes magazine’s annual ranking of the 400 wealthiest Americans, released in September. Ellison is No. 9 on the list.
An avid yachtsman, the computer company executive funded an America’s Cup racing team. He also has been embroiled in a much-publicized $7.5-billion hostile takeover attempt of Oracle’s rival software maker, PeopleSoft.
Surfer-producer stays near the sand
Surfer-turned-producer Brian Grazer, who formed the independent production company Imagine Films Entertainment with actor-turned-director Ron Howard in the mid-’80s, has purchased a Malibu home for about $15 million.
The Mediterranean-style house, built in the early ‘90s, has six bedrooms and six bathrooms in slightly more than 6,000 square feet. The home, behind gates, is on the sand.
The master suite has a terrace and a sitting room with an ocean view. The three-story house also has a sauna, an indoor pool, a spa and an elevator.
Grazer, 52, has produced all of Howard’s films since 1989, including “Parenthood” (1989), “Far and Away” (1992), “Apollo 13” (1995), “The Grinch” (2000) and “A Beautiful Mind” (2001), which won an Oscar for best picture in 2002. He produced “8 Mile” (2002), starring Eminem, and he is producing “The Cat in the Hat,” due out Nov. 21, and “The Alamo,” scheduled for release Dec. 25. Grazer also has produced the critically acclaimed TV series “24.”
‘Matrix’ producer buys in Malibu
Joel Silver, producer of “The Matrix Reloaded,” has purchased a Malibu home for about $15 million. It was not on the market.
The country-style house was built in the early ‘30s and has six bedrooms and 7 1/2 bathrooms in nearly 6,000 square feet, on close to 140 feet of beach frontage. The home also has a family room, living room, billiard area, master suite with sitting area, two oceanfront offices, a gym, a guesthouse, a courtyard, an oceanfront pool, two spas and a beachfront north-south tennis court.
Silver sold his Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Hollywood home, known as the Storer House, in mid-2002 for nearly its $3.5-million asking price. He owned the home for 17 years. During that time, he meticulously restored the home with the help of Wright’s grandson, architect Eric Wright.
Silver, 51, is a producer of action-adventure movies, including “Lethal Weapon,” “Die Hard” and “Predator” films. He also produced “Cradle 2 the Grave” (2002) and “13 Ghosts” (2001).
Guerrero gets a new home field
Lisa Guerrero, the new sideline reporter on ABC-TV’s “Monday Night Football,” has listed her Sunset Strip-area home at $699,000.
Guerrero, who signed a three-year contract with ABC in June, is selling her home because she and fiance Scott Erickson, a pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles, bought a house in Malibu.
The Sunset Strip-area home has two bedrooms and 1 3/4 bathrooms in about 1,000 square feet. The Spanish-style house, with a fireplace and stained-glass windows, was built in 1924.
Guerrero, in her 30s, grew up in Orange County and was a Rams cheerleader from 1983 to 1987. She then worked in sports television at Channel 2 before joining Fox Sports Net as a reporter. Most recently, she was a regular on “The Best Damn Sports Show Period” on Fox Sports Net.
Jacqui Bell of Coldwell Banker, Palisades East, has the listing.
Producer, author move upstream
Steven Roffer, an executive producer of the upcoming Meg Ryan movie “Against the Ropes,” and his wife, author Robin Fisher Roffer, have listed their Hancock Park home at about $1.4 million.
The Spanish-style house, built in 1925, has three bedrooms and three bathrooms in about 2,700 square feet. The walled and gated home also has a guesthouse, a Tuscan courtyard and a pool.
The producer and his wife, who wrote “Make a Name for Yourself: The 8 Steps Every Woman Needs to Create a Brand Strategy for Success,” have owned the home since 1999. They bought it from photographer Mary Nichols, who had refurbished it.
The current owners, who also own an entertainment marketing agency called Big Fish, created a new facade and installed air conditioning in the guesthouse. They are selling because they bought a larger home nearby for slightly more than its $1.9-million asking price.
“Against the Ropes,” marking Charles S. Dutton’s feature-film directorial debut, is due out in February.
Jill Morse Lane of Coldwell Banker, Hancock Park, has the listing.
Valley moves for a ‘S.W.A.T.’ team
Louis D’Esposito, executive producer of the Samuel L. Jackson movie “S.W.A.T.,” and his wife, Carole, have purchased a newly built San Fernando Valley home for about $1.5 million, and they listed their former home, in Sherman Oaks, for just under $1.2 million.
Their new home has five bedrooms in about 4,100 square feet. Their former home has three bedrooms in about 2,800 square feet.
Steve Shrager of Prudential John Aaroe, Encino, has the listing and represented the builder and the D’Espositos in the purchase.
To see previous columns on celebrity transactions visit www.latimes.com/hotproperty.
