Japan's Sony Corp said it would sell its US headquarters building in New York City for $1.1 billion (around Rs 5,983 crore), the highest price paid for a single US office building in two years, to a consortium led by real estate developer The Chetrit Group.
The final round shrank the number of bidders to eight, a source familiar with the deal said. The financing has yet to be settled, the source said.
The price was the highest paid for a single US office building since Google bought a 111 Eighth Ave. in Chelsea for $1.8 billion (Rs 9,790 crore) or roughly $620 per square foot at the end of 2010.
The Sony building, located in the pricey "Plaza District", is about 820,000 square feet, making the cost roughly $1,341 per square foot. Some of that footage includes retail space that commands higher rents.
A team of brokers lead by Doug Harmon of Eastdil Secured LLC brokered both the Sony and Google sales.
"While the sale is expected to close in March, we are entering into a three-year leaseback agreement, which means we expect to remain at 550 Madison until our eventual relocation," Nicole Seligman, president, Sony Corp. of America, said in a memo to employees, a copy of which was obtained by Reuters.
Among US real estate investors, Joseph Chetrit keeps one of the lowest profiles, but his purchases have often been high profile, including the former Sears Tower in Chicago and the Chelsea Hotel.
The Sony building, located on Madison Avenue between 55th and 56th St., was constructed in the early 1980s by the once mighty AT&T, once the largest
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