Fairfax to slash debt with Chullora and Tullamarine sales

Property executives have valued the Chullora site at $50-60 million and the Tullamarine site at $25-30 million, according to Fairfax publication the Australian Financial Review (AFR).

Fairfax finished the 2011-12 financial year with $914 million of net debt, but asset sales have since reduced that figure to between $200 million and $250 million, said the AFR.

Fairfax announced last year that it would shift newspaper printing from its two metropolitan supersites to a regional network that includes North Richmond, Canberra, Ballarat and Albury.

[Feature: Behind-the-scenes at Chullora]

A senior Fairfax source told ProPrint at the time that the plants had been operating at one-third capacity.

The transition is scheduled to complete by June 2014 and cost almost 400 jobs. The AFR said the restructure would generate $44 million of annual savings for Fairfax.

The media giant is likely to take out short-term leases on Chullora and Tullamarine as part of the sales process to give it time to wind down its printing operations, said the AFR.

Fairfax has reportedly been approached by five real estate agencies, including CBRE, which is managing the sale of four PMP sites.

Jones Lang LaSalle, Colliers International, Knight Frank and Savills have also reportedly showed interest.

[LinkedIn: Was Murdoch right to say newspapers are dying?]


 

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