Disney buys former Yamaha HQ as manufacturer exits California for Georgia
Yamaha prepares to relocate its US headquarters to Georgia through 2028
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The Walt Disney Company has acquired Yamaha Motor Corp.'s longtime Southern California headquarters for about $115 million as the Japanese manufacturer prepares to relocate its remaining U.S. headquarters operations to Georgia.
Walt Disney Parks and Resorts U.S. Inc. purchased the roughly 25-acre property at 6555 Katella Ave. in Cypress, California, in a transaction that closed Sept. 23, according to property records cited by the Orange County Business Journal. Transfer tax information on the grant deed indicates a sale price of approximately $115 million, the publication reported.
The industrial-zoned campus spans an entire city block and includes approximately 279,000 square feet of warehouse, flex and office space.
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Disney has said the acquisition will provide space to support its long-term operational and evolving business needs, according to the Orange County Register. The property, located several miles from Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, is expected to be used for non-guest-facing, or "back-of-house," operations.
Disney purchased the property for $115 million. (Google Maps)
Disney's purchase comes months after Yamaha Motor announced plans to relocate its U.S. headquarters from Cypress to Kennesaw, Georgia, in an effort to improve asset efficiency and profitability in its American operations.
Yamaha said in February that it planned to sell its Cypress land, offices and warehouses and move its headquarters functions to Georgia from the end of 2026 through the end of 2028. The company said it would use a sale-and-leaseback arrangement to maintain business continuity during the transition.
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Yamaha will lease back the Cypress property through Dec. 31, 2028, according to L.A. Business First.
Disney has said the acquisition will provide space to support its long-term operational and evolving business needs. (AaronP/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images)
The company said the restructuring is aimed at improving profitability as it contends with higher costs stemming from U.S. tariffs and changes in the market environment.
Yamaha has occupied the Cypress site for nearly five decades. Its parent company acquired the land in 1978 and established the office there the following year.
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Disney's purchase comes months after Yamaha Motor announced plans to relocate its U.S. headquarters from Cypress to Kennesaw, Georgia. (Gerardo Mora/Getty Images)
The company already has a significant footprint in Georgia. Its marine business moved to Kennesaw in 1999, followed by its motorsports operations in 2019. Yamaha employs more than 2,300 people in the state, according to Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp's office, including roughly 2,000 workers at its manufacturing facility in Newnan.
"After many years of great partnership, we are honored and proud to welcome Yamaha's American headquarters to the No. 1 state for business," Kemp said when the relocation was announced.
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FOX Business has reached out to Disney and Yamaha for additional comment.