Business
Scholastic Unlocks Significant Value Through Sale-Leasebacks of Owned Real Estate Assets
Binding Agreements Signed for Sale of New York City Headquarters and Jefferson City, Missouri Distribution CenterTransactions Expected to Generate $401
About this update from Scholastic Corporation
[{"type":"text","content":"Binding Agreements Signed for Sale of New York City Headquarters and Jefferson City, Missouri Distribution CenterTransactions Expected to Generate $401 Million in Estimated Net Proceeds to Be Deployed Toward Company's Capital Allocation Priorities, including Debt Reduction and Share RepurchasesNEW YORK, Dec. 2, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Scholastic Corporation (NASDAQ: SCHL), the global children's publishing, education and media company, today announced that it has entered into sale-leaseback transactions for its headquarters location in New York City (\"555-557 Broadway\") and its primary distribution facility in Jefferson City, Missouri (\"Jefferson City\"), which together are expected to generate estimated net proceeds of $401 million. The sale of these real estate assets aligns with the Company's long-term plan to monetize its significant non-operating assets to improve the efficiency of its balance sheet and create shareholder value. Proceeds are expected to be deployed in accordance with the Company's capital allocation priorities, including debt reduction and share repurchases.\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \nUnder the terms of the transactions, Scholastic is to sell 555-557 Broadway to a subsidiary of Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE: ESRT) for gross proceeds of $386 million in cash and Jefferson City to funds managed by affiliates of Fortress Investment Group (\"Fortress\") for gross proceeds of $95 million in cash. Upon closing of each of these transactions, Scholastic will enter into long-term leases to continue operations at both locations, while substantially reducing its footprint at 555-557 Broadway. Both transactions are expected to close before the end of 2025, following satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including title confirmation and surveys for Jefferson City.\"Today's announcement reflects meaningful momentum for Scholastic as we unlock the value of our owned real estate and focus on accelerating long-term, profitable growth and shareholder value creation,\" said Peter Warwick, President and CEO of Scholastic. \"Following highly competitive processes, these transactions maximize value from our most significant non-operating assets, while securing long-term use of strategic real estate key to our operations, now rightsized for our business needs. With a stronger balance sheet, we will be better positioned t...