ViacomCBS Agrees To Sell CBS 'Black Rock' HQ for $760 Million

By Jon Lafayette
( Broadcasting & Cable )
published

Company will lease back space on a short-term basis

CBS Corp. headquarters stands in New York, U.S., on Saturday, April 30, 2016.
CBS's midtown Manhattan headquarters at 51 West 52nd Street (Image credit: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

ViacomCBS, continuing to sell off non-core assets, said it reached an agreement to sell Black Rock, CBS's famous midtown Manhattan headquarters, for $760 million.

The buyer is Harbor Group International, a privately owned international real estate and management firm. 

Following the transaction, the company will lease back the space it still occupies in the building, at 51 West 52nd Street, on a short-term basis. 

ViacomCBS's headquarters is at One Astor Plaza, which was Viacom's headquarters before it merged with CBS.

ViacomCBS said it will use the proceeds from this transaction to invest in strategic growth priorities, including its streaming initiatives.

ViacomCBS has been selling off what it considers non-core assets including publisher Simon & Schuster and CNET.

Jon Lafayette
Jon Lafayette

Jon has been business editor of Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He focuses on revenue-generating activities, including advertising and distribution, as well as executive intrigue and merger and acquisition activity. Just about any story is fair game, if a dollar sign can make its way into the article. Before B+C, Jon covered the industry for TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, Advertising Age and The New York Post. A native New Yorker, Jon is hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Chicago.