Macklowe reaches deal over debt

Struggling real estate baron Harry Macklowe has reportedly reached a deal with Deutsche Bank to hand over control of seven Manhattan office buildings he acquired less than a year ago for $7 billion. Macklowe would still retain title and Macklowe Properties would still manage the buildings. His $5.8 billion debt was due on Feb. 9; now it has been extended while the buildings could be marketed for sale. “If he effectively gave up control of the assets, that is a little surprising because he’s such a scrapper,” said Scott Arnold, a real estate attorney King & Spalding. Many observers say that Macklowe overpaid when he spent $7 billion on the buildings, and say their value has dropped since he bought them at the height of the city’s real estate boom.