"That is happening," concurs one source. Smith has a close connection to the asset, originally developing Lincoln North in the 1980s with partner David Norton and now serving as property manager for Ibus, which acquired it in July 1994 for $12 million. Smith's Cranberry Hill Associates is also headquartered in the building, whereas Floyd's construction firm, CE Floyd Co., is located in abutting Bedford.

At this point, parties involved in the negotiations are keeping mum. Neither Floyd nor Smith returned calls from GlobeSt.com by press deadline on the pending sale of Lincoln North, which is being harvested for Ibus by the Capital Markets Group at CB Richard Ellis in Boston. Team member Gary Lemire is said to be orchestrating the effort, but the CBRE principal also did not respond to inquiries. Ibus officials were unavailable as well, although sources insist the property is under contract and moving towards a closing. The buyers are reportedly securing a loan to purchase Lincoln North through John Hancock Life Insurance Co.

Based in the Netherlands, Ibus has an international real estate footprint, owning commercial properties in such countries as France, Germany, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and Vietnam. US holdings include properties in Indiana, Minnesota, Ohio, Virginia and Washington, D.C. The firm has already sold another Massachusetts property, trading the Davenport Building in Cambridge a year ago for $69 million after buying the 220,000-sf asset in 2002 for $53 million.