MediaNews group, one of the major publishing houses of the United States that operates the Denver Post, is reportedly selling more than 70 office properties, totaling 1.7 million square feet, in the country.
The Wall Street Journal broke the news stating that the company wants to shed most of its assets to raise money and is selling the properties for a combined worth of $85 million. MediaNews will reportedly lease back some space in the sold buildings.
Eight of the listed properties are located in suburban Philadelphia alone. The whole office portfolio is being marketed by Praxis Commerical and Twenty Lake Holdings.
"We just don't have the need for as much real estate," Steve Rossi, president of Digital First Media - the company that manages MediaNews Group, told The Journal.
Through the sale, Digital First Media hopes to streamline its property portfolio "thereby freeing the company from the constraints of being overburdened with underutilized properties," Rossi was quoted by Philly.com.
News of the massive office property overhaul comes months after Digital First Media finalized an internal merger of MediaNews and 21st Century media - two of its largest publishing houses. The merger, which was announced eight months ago, was completed in a mere 30 days and the companies were spun off to operate under a single umbrella.
"It will be easier to push innovation," John Paton, CEO of Digital First media said in a statement that time. "Essentially it creates an enormous amount of efficiency within the company."
"This is the first step in the next part of the journey. We will continue doing what we have done - investing more in digital tools, capabilities in innovation and maximizing our print products," Patton added explaining that the intention was to build and create a larger local media company that would reach a large audience in the country.