Scholastic Closes Highly Accretive Sale-Leaseback Transactions for New York City Headquarters and Jefferson City Distribution Center

Rhea-AI Summary

Scholastic (NASDAQ: SCHL) closed sale-leaseback transactions for its New York City headquarters (555-557 Broadway) and Jefferson City, Missouri distribution center on Dec. 18, 2025.

The transactions generated $481 million in gross proceeds and an estimated $401 million in net proceeds after taxes, fees and transaction expenses; proceeds will be used under the company’s capital allocation priorities, including share repurchases. Buyers included a subsidiary of Empire State Realty Trust and funds managed by affiliates of Fortress Investment Group. Scholastic will discuss additional details on its earnings call at 4:30 p.m. ET on Dec. 18, 2025.

Positive

• $481M gross proceeds from sale-leasebacks
• $401M estimated net proceeds available for capital allocation
• Proceeds designated to support share repurchases

Negative

• Approximately $80M reduction from gross to net proceeds for taxes, fees and expenses
• Sale of HQ and distribution center reduces ownership of non-operating assets

Key Figures

Total proceeds $481 million Sale-leaseback of NYC HQ and Jefferson City facility

Estimated net proceeds $401 million After taxes, fees and transaction expenses; for capital allocation and buybacks

Market Reality Check

$27.00 Last Close

Volume Volume 274,211 is in line with the 20-day average of 273,762 ahead of the sale-leaseback update. normal

Technical Shares at $28.65 are trading above the $23.30 200-day moving average and about 10% below the 52-week high of $31.86.

Peers on Argus

SCHL was down 2.15% pre-news while key publishing peers showed mixed, smaller moves (e.g., GCI down 1.09%, PSO up 0.79%), suggesting a more company-specific setup than a broad sector move.

Historical Context

Date	Event	Sentiment	Move	Catalyst
Dec 04	Earnings call timing	Neutral	+0.6%	Set timing and access details for Q2 FY26 earnings release and call.
Oct 28	Franchise marketing event	Positive	-0.2%	Major Dog Man fan event and Guinness World Records attempt to support new release.
Sep 18	Q1 FY26 results	Mixed	+1.2%	Reported revenue decline and losses but improved adjusted EBITDA and sale-leaseback plans.
Sep 17	Dividend announcement	Positive	+0.8%	Declared <b>$0.20</b> per-share quarterly dividend for Q2 FY26.
Sep 04	Earnings call timing	Neutral	+5.2%	Scheduled Q1 FY26 earnings release and investor conference call.

Pattern Detected

Recent news has generally seen modestly positive price alignment, especially around dividends and earnings-related communications.

Recent Company History

Over the last few months, Scholastic highlighted earnings call schedules, a quarterly dividend, a major Dog Man franchise event, and fiscal 2026 Q1 results. Q1 results on Sep 18, 2025 noted a $225.6M revenue base with sale-leaseback exploration, directly preceding today’s completed transactions. Dividend and earnings-date announcements around Sep–Dec 2025 produced small positive moves, indicating investors have reacted constructively to capital-return and communication-focused updates.

Market Pulse Summary

This announcement details completed sale-leaseback deals for Scholastic’s New York headquarters and Jefferson City distribution center, generating $481 million in proceeds and an estimated $401 million in net cash. It follows earlier guidance that the company was exploring real estate monetization. Investors may focus on how these funds support share repurchases, growth initiatives and efficiency improvements, with additional color expected on the December 18, 2025 earnings call.

Key Terms

sale-leaseback financial

"announced the successful completion of its previously announced sale-leaseback transactions"

A sale-leaseback is a deal where an owner sells an asset—commonly real estate or equipment—to another party and immediately rents it back so they can keep using it. For investors, it matters because the seller converts a fixed asset into cash without disrupting operations, which can boost liquidity or pay down debt but also creates ongoing lease payments and long-term obligations that affect cash flow and the balance sheet.

AI-generated analysis. Not financial advice.

Transactions Generate $401 Million in Estimated Net Proceeds

NEW YORK, Dec. 18, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Scholastic Corporation (NASDAQ: SCHL), the global children's publishing, education and media company, today announced the successful completion of its previously announced 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").

The transactions generated $481 million in total proceeds. Net of taxes, fees and other transaction related expense, the Company estimates net proceeds to be $401 million, which will be used in accordance with its capital allocation priorities, including share repurchases.

Iole Lucchese, Chair of the Board of Directors, said, "This successful outcome reflects the Board's disciplined oversight and thoughtful approach to capital allocation. Unlocking value from non-operating assets in this manner positions Scholastic to accelerate its commitment to sustained value creation for shareholders, driving long-term growth and returning capital."

Peter Warwick, President and Chief Executive Officer, added, "These transactions mark an important milestone for Scholastic, both generating significant liquidity and reducing our operating footprint. We have meaningfully increased our ability to deploy capital in support of shareholder returns and long-term value creation, while continuing our progress improving operational efficiencies."

As previously disclosed, Scholastic sold 555-557 Broadway to a subsidiary of Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. and the Jefferson City distribution center to funds managed by affiliates of Fortress Investment Group.

The Company will provide additional details on the benefit of the transactions during its earnings conference call scheduled for 4:30 p.m. ET today, December 18, 2025.

Advisors

Newmark Group, Inc. served as exclusive financial advisor to Scholastic Corporation on both sale-leaseback transactions. Hogan Lovells served as legal counsel, and Gagnier Communications served as strategic communications advisor to Scholastic Corporation on the transactions.

About Scholastic

For more than 100 years, Scholastic Corporation (NASDAQ: SCHL) has been meeting children where they are – at school, at home and in their communities – by creating quality content and experiences, all beginning with literacy. Scholastic delivers stories, characters, and learning moments that empower all kids to become lifelong readers and learners through bestselling children's books, literacy- and knowledge-building resources for schools including classroom magazines, and award-winning, entertaining children's media. As the world's largest publisher and distributor of children's books through school-based book clubs and book fairs, classroom libraries, school and public libraries, retail, and online, and with a global reach into more than 135 countries, Scholastic encourages the personal and intellectual growth of all children, while nurturing a lifelong relationship with reading, themselves, and the world around them. Learn more at www.scholastic.com.

SCHL: Financial

Forward Looking Statements Certain statements contained in this press release may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects", "is expected", "budget", "potential", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates", "believes", or "projects", or the negatives thereof or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "will", "should", "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved" or the negative of these terms or comparable terminology. All statements other than statements of historical fact, including those that express, or involve discussions as to, expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance, are not historical facts and constitute forward-looking statements involving estimates, assumptions and uncertainties that could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those expressed in such forward-looking statements. Such statements reflect Scholastic's current views and intentions in respect to future events, arrived at based on current information available to Scholastic, and are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions as referred to above. Many factors could cause the actual results, performance or achievements that may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements to vary from those referred to herein should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, including those risk factors discussed or referred to in Scholastic's disclosure documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") available on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov, including Scholastic's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and quarterly report on Form 10-Q.

 

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SOURCE Scholastic Corporation

FAQ

How much did Scholastic (SCHL) raise from the Dec. 18, 2025 sale-leaseback transactions?

Scholastic raised $481 million in gross proceeds and estimates $401 million in net proceeds after taxes and fees.

What will Scholastic (SCHL) use the $401 million net proceeds for?

The company said the $401 million will be used according to capital allocation priorities, including share repurchases.

Which properties did Scholastic (SCHL) sell in the Dec. 18, 2025 transactions?

Scholastic sold its New York City headquarters at 555-557 Broadway and its Jefferson City, Missouri distribution center.

Who bought Scholastic’s (SCHL) NYC headquarters and Jefferson City distribution center?

555-557 Broadway was sold to a subsidiary of Empire State Realty Trust and Jefferson City was sold to funds managed by affiliates of Fortress Investment Group.

When will Scholastic (SCHL) discuss transaction benefits with investors?

The company will provide more details on its earnings conference call at 4:30 p.m. ET on Dec. 18, 2025.