九色

Deutsche Bank is set to buy American International Group Inc.’s building at 72 Wall Street for about $60 million from a consortium including South Korea’s Kumho Investment Bank, a person with knowledge of the deal said on Monday.

The sale of one of AIG’s two lower Manhattan headquarters buildings will give the consortium a return of about $26 million from its investment made slightly more than a year ago, the source said.

The person was not authorised to talk to the media since the deal has not yet closed.

The group bought two AIG headquarters buildings — at 70 Pine Street and 72 Wall Street — about a year ago, and the deal with Deutsche Bank will include a sale and lease back of lower offices of the 72 Wall Street building.

The insurer’s headquarters at 70 Pine Street is in a 66-story building topped with a Gothic-like spire. The consortium plans to remodel that building. For a time, it was the tallest building in downtown Manhattan prior to the building of the World Trade Center.

Both buildings, which are connected by a skywalk, were constructed in 1932 and had been owned and operated by AIG since the 1970s. AIG’s term at 72 Wall Street expired last year, and use of the main building also expired at the end of this year, the source said.

Kumho was not immediately available for comment.

(Reporting by Miyoung Kim; Editing by Ken Wills)

Topics Mergers & Acquisitions AIG