The "orderly transfer of the assets has been underway since earlier this year, Morgan Stanley spokeswoman Alyson Barnes told Bloomberg yesterday. The combined value of all five buildings is approximately $279 million, with One Post and Foundry Square worth approximately $300 per square foot and the others worth less, according to Colliers International.

"This isn't a default or foreclosure situation," Barnes reportedly told Bloomberg. "It is a negotiated transfer to our lenders."

Morgan Stanley bought 10 San Francisco buildings in the city's financial district as part of a $2.5-billion May 2007 purchase from Blackstone Group, which had acquired the assets from Equity Office properties. The bank will continue to own the other office buildings it acquired in the Blackstone deal, Barnes told Bloomberg.