Swiss TX Group plans to sell printing plants, report says

TX AG

25/02/2024 10:00

ZURICH, Feb 25 (Reuters) - TX Group  TXGN.S , one of
Switzerland's biggest media companies, wants to sell its three
printing plants in Zurich, Bern and Lausanne as well as office
buildings for hundreds of millions of Swiss francs, newspaper
NZZ am Sonntag reported on Sunday.
        Citing a document the company presented to investors,
the newspaper said TX Group's Tamedia unit hoped to obtain a
"high three-digit million" sum for the assets, and that the last
of the printing plants should close by 2032.
    The report comes as newspaper publishing is under growing
pressure from online competition, Swiss industry data show.
    Responding to a request for comment, TX Group said in a
statement that it had in December 2022 announced it would
continue to work on its real estate strategy.
    Under that process, "all options" for its three printing
plants and two office buildings were being examined, and the
outcome was still open, it noted.
    TX Group said it could not confirm the price guidance named,
and that Tamedia was itself in the midst of developing a new
business strategy that should be finalized in June 2026.
    "This strategy also includes printing and printing centres.
Potential closures and closure dates are not known; the strategy
process remains ongoing," the statement said.
    NZZ am Sonntag said the sale plan was not set in stone, and
might not go ahead if the company did not, for instance, receive
a satisfactory offer for the real estate.
    TX Group's assets include Swiss daily newspaper
Tages-Anzeiger, SonntagsZeitung and various regional papers.

 (Reporting by Dave Graham; editing by David Evans)
 ((dave.graham@thomsonreuters.com; Reuters Messaging:
dave.graham.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))