Sears Tower Sale Talks With Canadians Stall

Sears, Roebuck & Co. has hit some snags in negotiations to sell its landmark headquarters building, the world’s tallest, to Canadian developer Olympia & York Developments Ltd., sources said Wednesday.

They were close to signing a deal when they hit a “major impasse”--a dispute over which party should pay the increased property taxes stemming from an expected reappraisal of the building after the sale, said Kevin Haggarty, an executive vice president of Cushman & Wakefield, a real estate firm that was advising Olympia & York.

“It’s a serious situation,” Haggarty said in a telephone interview from New York. “Whether it’s a completely dead deal or not I couldn’t tell you. You’d have to ask the principals.”

Olympia & York confirmed that the talks were stalled but would not elaborate.

Sears spokesman Douglas Fairweather declined to comment.

Others close to the talks viewed the development as a pause in the process rather than a breakdown that would force the retailing and financial services giant to seek another buyer for the 110-story Sears Tower.