Bank of America Trades Argentine Tower

BUENOS AIRES-Bank of America has sold a majority interest in one of this city’s most prominent commercial properties, a 35-story office building designed by renowned Argentine architect Cesar Pelli. The country’s leading real estate company, IRSA Inversiones y Representaciones SA, paid $108 million according to local sources in a deal that gives the firm effective control of the six-year-old BankBoston Tower. The share price said $121 million Argentine pesos which converts to $38 million US dollars, however local sources say that that price was for the balance of Irsa’s share, however the total price was $108 million.

Bank of America has owned the Buenos Aires asset since its $48-billion buy-out of FleetBoston was completed in 2005, with the latter institution previously consuming BankBoston and that firm’s vast South American operations. The sale underscores BankBoston’s legacy on that continent, having had a presence in Buenos Aires since 1917. Over time, Bank of America has pared the holdings acquired from those mergers, divesting BankBoston retail outlets and assets in such countries as Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay. There are no longer any BankBoston retail branches remaining there or in the US.