Exxon to Sell Its N.Y. Headquarters

Exxon Corp., the world’s biggest oil company, expects to sell its world headquarters building to a Japanese real estate concern for $610 million by the end of the year, according to an agreement announced Wednesday.

Exxon said it and Rockefeller Group intended to sell their respective interests in the Exxon Building, a 54-story skyscraper, to Mitsui Fudosan (New York) Inc., a subsidiary of Mitsui Real Estate Development Co.

Exxon said the deal would give it a one-time gain of about $246 million in its fourth quarter earnings.

Exxon will retain an option to lease 15% of the building.

The move comes during a period of retrenchment for Exxon and the petroleum industry in general, following the year-long slump that has seen crude oil prices drop by about half from the $32 a 42-gallon barrel level of last November.