News Ltd in early talks on acquiring The Age print centre

Representatives of News Limited have held informal talks with Fairfax Media over a potential purchase of The Age’s print centre at Tullamarine, Mumbrella can reveal. A spokesman from News Limited denied there was a formal offer or that negotiations had begun.

The architect-designed five storey building, a Melbourne landmark located next to the airport, was Fairfax’s flagship print centre when it opened in 2003 but is due to be sold within two years.

The print centre cost $220 million, houses bespoke printing presses imported from Europe and has won a swathe of architecture awards. 

According to the announcement in June this year about the planned closure of both the Tullamarine and NSW Chullora print centres, “Both sites were commissioned when almost all of Metro Media’s content was delivered through the printed newspaper. They have legacy presses with significant surplus capacity which is no longer required.”