- NEW YORK (Reuters)
- MetLife Inc. (MET) said on Thursday that an affiliate agreed to sell
Chicago's Sears Tower, the tallest building in the United States, a little
more than half a year after it took control of the building.
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- The insurer said it expects an after-tax gain of about
$90 million on the sale. Closing is expected in the second quarter.
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- The New York-based insurer, which has held the primary
mortgage on the 110-story building since 1990, said Metropolitan Insurance
and Annuity Co. has signed a contract to sell the building; but it declined
to disclose the buyer or the purchase price, citing a nondisclosure agreement.
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- MetLife in August bought control of the building from
Trizec Properties Inc. (TRZ) for $9 million.
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- The deal released Trizec from the burden of $766 million
in anticipated mortgage payments on the building, which at the time was
about 88 or 89 percent occupied. Trizec retained its role managing the
building.
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- "It's not clear at this point whether we will in
fact continue to manage the property under the new ownership," Trizec
spokesman Rick Matthews said. "We're interested in sitting down with
the buyer, but we haven't done so yet."
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- The Sears Tower's value declined after the Sept. 11,
2001, attacks on New York's World Trade Center depressed the market for
tall office buildings.
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- Trizec, the Chicago-based real estate investment trust,
had bought its stake in the Sears Tower in 1997 for $70 million and was
expected to assume ownership in 2003.
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- ©2004 Reuters Limited.
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