Arkhouse is pressing People Incorporated to sell its Frank Gehry-designed headquarters at 555 West 18th Street, identifying the Chelsea property as a source of cash in a broader campaign to narrow the media company’s stock-market discount.
In a letter dated November 4 and released November 5, managing partner Gavriel Kahane said Arkhouse believes buyers would pursue the property at values approaching $300 million. The investor cited its real estate experience and previous indications of interest, comparing that estimate with approximately $230 million that it attributed to People’s acquisition of the building and land. Arkhouse’s letter
The valuation is Arkhouse’s assessment, not an accepted offer or an independently verified appraisal. The announcement identifies no purchaser, signed agreement or board-approved sale process.
A corporate asset with a separate real estate history
The headquarters occupies a prominent corner of West 18th Street and Eleventh Avenue. Developer Georgetown describes the building as approximately 200,000 square feet across 10 stories, with 96 underground parking spaces. Its white, curved glass exterior distinguishes it from the conventional office inventory around it. Georgetown’s property profile
The company brought the building and its underlying land under common ownership in April 2023, when it was still called IAC. It paid $80 million in cash for the land, according to its announcement at the time. That transaction is a documented acquisition; the current $300 million discussion is a shareholder’s proposal for a future disposition. IAC’s land-purchase announcement
Diller then described the headquarters as “more than an office,” emphasizing its role in encouraging collaboration and the company’s early presence in a changing Chelsea. A sale now would raise a practical question alongside the financial one: where the business would operate afterward, and at what cost.
IAC adopted the legal name People Incorporated in June 2026. The publicly traded parent owns the People Inc. publishing business and a significant minority interest in MGM Resorts International. The distinction between parent and publishing subsidiary matters when assessing the balance sheet behind Arkhouse’s proposal. Company name-change announcement
Cash at the parent, debt at the subsidiary
People’s November 2 results reported $946.4 million of cash and equivalents outside the publishing subsidiary at September 30. The subsidiary held another $372.4 million, while the company’s $1.4 billion of long-term debt was owed by the publishing subsidiary. Describing the entire enterprise as debt-free would therefore misrepresent the group’s financial position. SEC-filed third-quarter results
Management had already signaled an appetite to return capital before the activist letter became public. In those results, Diller said the company had ample capital to buy its own stock and pursue other opportunities. People reported that 12.5 million shares remained under existing repurchase authorizations as of October 30, with timing dependent on market conditions and other considerations. Third-quarter capital allocation disclosure
Arkhouse wants a more specific program: a Dutch auction tender for at least $750 million of stock, alongside the property sale and shareholder rights to net proceeds from the company’s Google/Alphabet litigation. Those are demands from the investor, rather than commitments announced by People. Reuters coverage
The relationship has previously produced agreement. In April 2025, IAC announced the nomination of Tor Braham to its board after engagement with Arkhouse, together with governance changes. That history establishes an existing dialogue, not acceptance of the new real estate proposal. Company board announcement
The missing terms will determine the economics
For property investors, the unresolved occupancy terms are central. A sale with vacant possession would present different leasing costs and risks from a sale accompanied by a long-term corporate lease. For People, sale proceeds would have to be weighed against taxes, transaction costs and the expense of replacement space or future rent.
The published proposal does not resolve those issues. Until the board chooses a course and buyers test the asset, Arkhouse’s estimate is a negotiating argument in a corporate campaign. It does not establish a new Chelsea office sale comparable.
Published by The Basis. Research dates, source references and illustrative assumptions are retained from the original article.
