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German fund operator Commerzleasing und Immobilien is close to an agreement to buy an 80% stake in the office building at 666 Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan.
The transaction would value the 1.5 million-square-foot property at roughly $725 million, or $483/sf. Commerzleasing beat out the other finalist, an unidentified private investor advised by Credit Suisse First Boston.
The 41-story property is owned by a partnership between TMW Property Fund and Tishman Speyer of New York. TMW, a joint venture between two German insurers, holds an 80% interest, while Tishman owns the remaining 20% stake in the property.
While the partnership put the whole property up for sale in December via Lazard Freres, the most likely scenario now is that Dusseldorf-based Commerzleasing would buy TMW's 80% stake. But there remains a possibility that Commerzleasing, which...