550 sold

THEIR DAYS ARE NUMBERED: Cash-strapped Sony Corp. has sold its U.S. headquarters building at 550 Madison Ave. to a real estate consortium headed by the Chetrit Group for $1.1 billion, the company announced yesterday. “Given the opportunities and challenges in the current economic and real estate landscape, selling 550 Madison now is a timely and logical strategic move,” Sony Corp. of America prexy Nicole Seligman said in the statement picked up by Bloomberg. “Regarding our new headquarters, we continue to look at a number of spaces in Manhattan but have not yet made a decision about where to lease.” But don’t take that familiar address out of your Rolodexes just yet. Sony Music, Sony/ATV, Sony Pictures and other units will stay at 550 for up to three years under a leaseback arrangement with the purchaser. The deal is expected to close in March. (1/18a)