Sony sells famed NYC headquarters for $1.1 billion

Sony (SNE) on Thursday announced that it has entered into an agreement to sell its famed 550 Madison headquarters in New York City. The 37-story building is being purchased by a group of investors led by The Chetrit Group, a New York-based company the owns a number of commercial properties in New York City and other major U.S real estate markets, for $1.1 billion. The sale will help Sony pay off debt and is expected to generate net cash proceeds of about $770 million. BGR exclusively reported Sony’s plans for the sale last October, noting that the company was originally trying to sell the property for between $1.5 billion and $2 billion. As part of the terms of the agreement, Sony will remain in the building as a tenant for up to three years. The transaction is expected to close in March.