Why would Blackstone, one the largest owners of real estate in the world be selling an office building for $2,250,000,000....do they know something the little guys don't? The last most expensive office building sold in 2008 right before the last financial crisis. If new York real estate only goes one way (UP) and is at all time record highs why would they sell out now? Wont it be worth $3 billion next year or $5 billion by 2018. Hmmm something to think about it. WSJ: Blackstone To Sell Manhattan Skyscraper To Ivanhoe Cambridge For $2.25 Bln By RTT News, November 17, 2014, 09:42:00 PM (RTTNews.com) - Private equity giant Blackstone Group L.P. ( BX ) has reached a deal to sell its New York city skyscraper '1095 Avenue of the Americas' to a team of Canadian property investor Ivanhoe Cambridge and Chicago-based real estate investment firm Callahan Capital Partners LLC for about $2.25 billion, according to a Wall Street Journal reports on Monday.The sale could well be the second most expensive individual office building sale in the U.S., trailing the $2.8 billion sale of the General Motors building in Manhattan to Boston Properties, Inc. ( BXP ) in 2008.Blackstone has reportedly hired real estate investment banking company Eastdil Secured LLC to assist in the sale process. Blackstone bought the skyscraper as part of its $39 billion acquisition of Sam Zell'sEquity Office Properties Trust in 2007, prior to the financial crisis.Norwegian sovereign fund Norges Bank Investment Management was also said to be in the fray to buy the property.The Manhattan office building is a 42-story, 1.2 million-square-foot office tower, now known as 3 Bryant Park, is poised on the western side New York's beloved Bryant Park and sits at the corner of 42nd Street and Sixth Avenue.The skyscraper was also known as New York Telephone Company Building and NYNEX Building, but officially changed its name to '1095 Avenue of the Americas' in early 2007 upon the completion of its $300 million renovation for upgrading to Class A from Class B+ office space.The building is conveniently located between three major transportation hubs: Port Authority, the Times Square Subway Station and Grand Central Station.The office tower is now home to MetLife, Inc.'s ( MET ) global headquarters, and was the Verizon Communications, Inc. ( VZ ) headquarters from 1997 to 2000 when it occupied all 41 floors. Verizon returned to the building more than a month ago, and Whole Foods Market, Inc. (WFM) is also said to be looking to take a large retail space at the base of the tower.In mid-June, Blackstone agreed to sell five high-rise office towers in Boston to a consortium of buyers led by Canadian real estate firm Oxford Properties Group for about $2.1 billion. These properties were also part of its acquisition of billionaire Sam Zell'sEquity Office Properties Trust.Blackstone has resold several of these properties to buyers, including real estate tycoon Harry Macklowe, in order to pay down debt. However, the company has continued to retain several large holdings in Boston and California.Blackstone, headed by Stephen Schwarzman, is a leading global investment and advisory firm headquartered in New York City.Ivanhoe Cambridge owns mainly shopping centers, office buildings and apartment properties in Canada, the U.S., Europe, Brazil and Asia. Ivanhoe reportedly had more than C$40 billion or $35 billion of assets as of December 31.Callahan Capital Partners is focused on creating value in real estate by investing in high-quality office properties and leveraging substantial experience and expertize in asset management to generate above-average risk adjusted returns.In December 2012, Ivanhoe Cambridge joined forces with Callahan Capital Partners in the development of its U.S. office real estate platform and the management of its expanding U.S. office portfolio.A new property acquired in Manhattan in mid-November 2012, 1411 Broadway, was the their first investment to be managed by Callahan Capital Partners.BX closed Monday's regular trading session at $32.02, up $0.16 or 0.50% on a volume of 3.33 million shares.For comments and feedback: contact editorial@rttnews.comhttp://www.rttnews.comRead more: http://www.nasdaq.com/article/wsj-b...idge-for-225-bln-20141117-01248#ixzz3JS5ScJXT