Cinelease Acquired by Zello to Power the Next Era of Global Film & TV Production

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 1, 2025--

Zello, a private investment platform focused on scaling exceptional businesses in the broader entertainment industry, announced today that it has acquired Cinelease, a market leader in lighting and grip rentals, from Herc Rentals (NYSE: HRI). The transaction marks a defining move in Zello’s strategy to support the infrastructure behind content creation — and power the future of global film and television production.

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For over 45 years, Cinelease has been a trusted name in production support— renowned for its reliability, deep industry relationships, and service-first mindset. Under Zello’s ownership, the company will continue to be led by industry veterans Mark Lamberton, Chris Rogers, and Gannon Murphy. Built on core values of responsiveness, dependability, and drive, Cinelease offers a robust inventory of lighting and grip equipment and serves as the professional manager of studio facilities owned by leading real estate investors. With operations spanning every major production hub in the U.S. and Canada, Cinelease supports thousands of film, television, and commercial productions annually through its integrated studio and equipment offerings.

Cinelease will operate as a standalone, privately held company backed by Zello’s experienced team. With decades of operational expertise across studio management, equipment logistics, and production infrastructure, Zello will support Cinelease in deepening its market presence while remaining aligned with the needs of filmmakers and crews. This transition positions the company for disciplined expansion and reinforces its commitment to delivering world-class lighting, grip, and studio solutions.

“Cinelease is built on trust—and a team that studios, crews, and producers have relied on for decades,” said Louis Dargenzio, CEO of Zello. “This acquisition is about honoring that legacy while leaning into the future. We believe in this team, we believe in this brand, and we believe in the entertainment industry. We're excited to drive innovation and growth for our studio and production partners.”

“This marks an exciting new chapter for Cinelease,” 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. Together, we’ll keep raising the bar for production support across North America.”

Zello was advised by Proskauer Rose LLP as legal counsel, EY as accounting advisor, and American Discovery Capital as financial advisor. Financing for the transaction was provided by MidCap Financial, a leading middle-market lender owned and managed by Apollo Global Management. Herc was advised by Sidley Austin LLP on legal matters and Goldman Sachs on financial matters. MidCap Financial was advised by Paul Hastings LLP on legal matters.

About Cinelease

Founded in 1977, Cinelease is one of the most trusted names in production support—recognized for its reliability, deep industry relationships, and unwavering commitment to service. With operations across every major production hub in the U.S. and Canada, Cinelease supplies lighting and grip rentals, expendables, and sound stages to thousands of film, television, and commercial productions each year.

Cinelease also serves as the professional manager of studio facilities owned by leading real estate investors, offering an integrated platform that combines best-in-class equipment and scalable studio solutions. Its foundation is built on responsiveness, dependability, and drive—delivered by a deeply experienced team with an average tenure of over a decade.

From humble beginnings as a mom-and-pop operation to its evolution as an industry leader, Cinelease has remained true to its service-first ethos. Its culture is rooted in loyalty, collaboration, and a passion for supporting storytellers at every stage of production.

Learn more:www.Cinelease.com

About Zello

Zello is a next-generation investment platform where capital, creativity, and operational excellence converge. With core focus areas in content, high-growth businesses, and infrastructure, Zello builds, owns, and scales companies that power industries—starting with entertainment and expanding beyond.

Through an integrated approach, Zello combines disciplined investment, physical assets, and seasoned operating talent to scale proven models and back bold ideas. The platform is purpose built to help exceptional teams unlock long-term value and build enduring businesses.

Rooted in deep industry experience, Zello supports companies through every stage of growth— aligning vision with execution to create lasting impact.

Learn more:www.ZelloGroup.com

Pictured: the Cinelease headquarters

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Myanmar insisted Friday that its deadly military campaign against the Rohingya ethnic minority was a legitimate counter-terrorism operation and did not amount to genocide, as it defended itself at the top United Nations court against an allegation of breaching the genocide convention.

Myanmar launched the campaign in Rakhine state in 2017 after an attack by a Rohingya insurgent group. Security forces were accused of mass rapes, killings and torching thousands of homes as more than 700,000 Rohingya fled into neighboring Bangladesh.

“Myanmar was not obliged to remain idle and allow terrorists to have free reign of northern Rakhine state,” the country’s representative Ko Ko Hlaing told black-robed judges at the International Court of Justice.

African nation Gambia brought a case at the court in 2019 alleging that Myanmar's military actions amount to a breach of the Genocide Convention that was drawn up in the aftermath of World War II and the Holocaust.

Some 1.2 million members of the Rohingya minority are still languishing in chaotic, overcrowded camps in Bangladesh, where armed groups recruit children and girls as young as 12 are forced into prostitution. The sudden and severe foreign aid cuts imposed last year by U.S. President Donald Trump shuttered thousands of the camps’ schools and have caused children to starve to death.

Buddhist-majority Myanmar has long considered the Rohingya Muslim minority to be “Bengalis” from Bangladesh even though their families have lived in the country for generations. Nearly all have been denied citizenship since 1982.

As hearings opened Monday, Gambian Justice Minister Dawda Jallow said his nation filed the case after the Rohingya “endured decades of appalling persecution, and years of dehumanizing propaganda. This culminated in the savage, genocidal ‘clearance operations’ of 2016 and 2017, which were followed by continued genocidal policies meant to erase their existence in Myanmar.”

Hlaing disputed the evidence Gambia cited in its case, including the findings of an international fact-finding mission set up by the U.N.'s Human Rights Council.

“Myanmar’s position is that the Gambia has failed to meet its burden of proof," he said. "This case will be decided on the basis of proven facts, not unsubstantiated allegations. Emotional anguish and blurry factual pictures are not a substitute for rigorous presentation of facts.”

Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi represented her country at jurisdiction hearings in the case in 2019, denying that Myanmar armed forces committed genocide and instead casting the mass exodus of Rohingya people from the country she led as an unfortunate result of a battle with insurgents.

The pro-democracy icon is now in prison after being convicted of what her supporters call trumped-up charges after a military takeover of power.

Myanmar contested the court’s jurisdiction, saying Gambia was not directly involved in the conflict and therefore could not initiate a case. Both countries are signatories to the genocide convention, and in 2022, judges rejected the argument, allowing the case to move forward.

Gambia rejects Myanmar's claims that it was combating terrorism, with Jallow telling judges on Monday that “genocidal intent is the only reasonable inference that can be drawn from Myanmar’s pattern of conduct.”

In late 2024, prosecutors at another Hague-based tribunal, the International Criminal Court, requested an arrest warrant for the head of Myanmar’s military regime for crimes committed against the country’s Rohingya Muslim minority. Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, who seized power from Suu Kyi in 2021, is accused of crimes against humanity for the persecution of the Rohingya. The request is still pending.

FILE - In this Sept. 7, 2017, file photo, smoke rises from a burned house in Gawdu Zara village, northern Rakhine state, where the vast majority of the country's 1.1 million Rohingya lived, Myanmar. (AP Photo, File)