Related to buy AT&T's WarnerMedia headquarters for US$2.2 billion

New York

DEVELOPER Related Companies said on Tuesday one of its affiliates has agreed to buy the global headquarters of AT&T's WarnerMedia in Manhattan for about US$2.2 billion in one of the city's most expensive commercial real estate deals.

The affiliate has entered into a contract expected to close late in the second quarter for WarnerMedia's offices spanning 26 floors at 30 Hudson Yards, Related said in a statement.

Related will enter into a long-term lease-back until early 2034 for the space of about 139,355 square metres in an office tower that has the highest observation deck in the Western Hemisphere. Hudson Yards is a new US$25 billion complex of commercial and residential skyscrapers built on Manhattan's far west side above the rail yards.

Related won bidding to buy WarnerMedia's stake. WarnerMedia, formerly Time Warner, became a partner in the building's development in 2014.

AT&T has sought to cut its debt by about US$20 billion in 2019 after last year's US$85 billion takeover of Time Warner.

A team led by Doug Harmon at brokerage Cushman & Wakefield represented Related in the transaction, the most expensive in Manhattan since the sale of Chelsea Market to Alphabet's Google last year for US$2.4 billion in a deal that Mr Harmon also handled. REUTERS