June 23 (Bloomberg) -- Deutsche Bank AG set a July 15 deadline to accept new bids for Manhattan’s Worldwide Plaza office tower after a deal to sell the property fell apart, three people familiar with the plan said.

The bank notified potential bidders that the property is back up for sale after deciding not to complete a June 3 deal with RCG Longview and George Comfort & Sons, said the people, who declined to be identified because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly.

Deutsche Bank will change the terms of the transaction with the new buyer, the people said. While it will still finance the sale, the bank will no longer retain an equity stake in the 47- story tower at Eighth Avenue and West 49th Street, the people said. Worldwide Plaza was one of seven Midtown skyscrapers Germany’s biggest bank took possession of 16 months ago when developer Harry Macklowe defaulted on about $7 billion in debt.

The bank has sought to sell the properties in a market where values have fallen 30 percent to 50 percent from their 2007 peak, Studley Inc. broker Woody Heller said.

John Gallagher, a Deutsche Bank spokesman, declined to comment. Calls to Peter Cohen, RCG managing partner, and Peter Duncan, president of George Comfort, weren’t returned. RCG and George Comfort are based in New York.

The Wall Street Journal earlier reported that the sale fell through.

Under the structure proposed for the earlier deal, Deutsche Bank was entitled to a preferred equity return after RCG and George Comfort received a specified level of proceeds. The structure was devised to allow the bank to receive additional revenue once new tenants are lined up for the 1.6 million square-foot building.

Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide, the advertising and public relations firm owned by WPP Group Plc, is vacating the building. The 709,000 square-foot vacancy is the second-biggest block of space now available in New York, according to Colliers ABR, a commercial real estate brokerage firm.

To contact the reporter on this story: David M. Levitt in New York at dlevitt@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: June 23, 2009 18:46 EDT