METLIFE SELLS BUILDINGS:

MetLife Inc. agreed to sell its Manhattan building above Grand Central Station, formerly called the Pan Am building, for $1.72 billion, its second major real-estate deal in weeks. The sale to Tishman Speyer Properties LP is expected to result in a gain of more than $750 million, net of income taxes, and won’t have a material impact on operating earnings, the insurance company said. The building, located at 200 Park Ave., will continue to serve as the company’s corporate headquarters and the prominent “MetLife'” sign atop the building will remain in place.

A few weeks earlier, MetLife sold the original MetLife building, an ornate architectural confection and Manhattan landmark for nearly a century, to SL Green Realty Corp. as part of a $918 million deal.

The sales follow MetLife’s Feb. 1 announcement that it was acquiring Travelers Life & Annuity Co. for at least $11.5 billion from Citigroup Inc. At the time, MetLife said it would finance the deal, in part, with assets sales including equity real estate investments.

Topics Mergers & Acquisitions