• by Richard Whitman , Columnist, February 7, 2021

Dentsu Group Inc. is considering selling its 48-story headquarters building in Tokyo for about $2.9 billion, according to several recent reports in Japan.

If the company does sell at that price, it would reportedly be a record for a single building sale in the country.

Rumors of the sale — Dentsu issued a statement declining official comment — come as the company is finalizing plans for a companywide restructuring, which it has said it would outline later this month.

Jobs are expected to be cut both in Japan and its international operations, likely resulting in a reduced real-estate footprint at the holding company.

The Tokyo headquarters building has been largely vacant since last spring, when most of the 9,000 employees who worked there began working from home, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, just a small percentage has returned.