reported a possible sale last week.

Terms of the pending transaction were not disclosed. Recent published reports have speculated that given the current market and the nature of the sale--a move by a troubled financial services giant looking to divest assets to help repay $45 billion in federal loans--the two properties would sell for around $100 million, about a third of what they would have fetched two years ago.

What is certain is that the deal is not a sale-leaseback and that AIG will be vacating its 1.4 million square feet of space at the 66-story 70 Pine and 16-story 72 Wall, which are connected by a skywalk. AIG has owned 70 Pine since 1976, when it purchased the Art Deco office tower for $15 million.

A source familiar with the matter tells GlobeSt.com that AIG remains committed to a Downtown presence, and that employees will remain at 72 Wall through the end of this year and at 70 Pine through the end of 2010. Following that, the employees will be relocated to 180 Maiden Ln., where the company subleased 800,000 square feet from Goldman Sachs a year ago, and other existing AIG offices nearby.