UBM has moved to replace PR Newswire's CEO with the parent company's chief financial officer, months after a report that UBM is shopping the profitable news dissemination service.

Gray, ChackoGray, Chacko

Current PRN CEO Ninan Chacko has "decided that it is time for him to pursue other opportunities," said a statement from UK-based UBM. Chacko took the reins in 2009 after posts at Worldspan and Sabre Holdings.

UBM has installed CFO and director Robert Gray as CEO of PRN, effective Aug. 1. UBM chief Tim Cobbold said Gray has "deep knowledge of the PR Newswire business and its people, and has been involved in the creation of its strategy."

Reuters reported in May that UBM was shopping PRN in a deal that could be worth more than $700M.

UBM in recent years had shed legacy publishing operations and focused on trade show events, leaving PRN as a lucrative but discrete business unit. One analyst said, per the Guardian, that UBM would likely take a short-term hit but could use PRN sale proceeds to better benefit its core business. Revenue for 2014 at UBM was $1.15B.

PRN posted 2014 revenue of $302.1M with operating profit of $69M.

Cobbold said Chacko did a "great job of positioning the business for the future" and wished him well.