SocGen to Move U.S. Headquarters to 245 Park Ave.

Societe Generale SA, France’s second- largest bank, signed an agreement to move its U.S. headquarters to 245 Park Ave. in New York’s biggest office leasing this year.

Societe Generale sent a memorandum today to its New York employees announcing the decision, said Jim Galvin, a spokesman for the Paris-based company. The move will occur in 2013, when the bank’s lease at 1221 Avenue of the Americas expires.

The company plans to take the third through 12th floors, about 442,000 square feet (41,000 square meters), and 110,400 square feet on floors 13, 14 and 15 for potential expansion, Galvin said in an e-mail. The tower, majority owned by New York- based Brookfield Office Properties Corp., is 44 stories and 1.8 million square feet. It’s located between 46th and 47th streets, two blocks north of Grand Central Terminal.

The deal would be the biggest New York office lease by square foot this year, according to CoStar Group Inc., a Bethesda, Maryland-based real estate data service. The largest through the first three quarters was the law firm Proskauer Rose LLP’s 406,399-square-foot deal at 11 Times Square, a new building on Eighth Avenue and West 42nd Street.

Subleasing From JPMorgan

Societe Generale will sublease the space from the current tenant, JPMorgan Chase & Co., for 10 years, Galvin said. It will then lease directly from Brookfield for another decade. He didn’t disclose the financial terms.

“We took into consideration a number of factors in deciding to move to 245 Park, including technology and infrastructure needs and importantly the opportunity to enhance our space and to build new state-of-the-art trading floors,” Galvin said. The company is France’s biggest bank after BNP Paribas SA.

Matt Cherry, a Brookfield spokesman, didn’t immediately return a phone call seeking comment. Jennifer Zuccarelli, a JPMorgan spokeswoman, declined to comment.

CB Richard Ellis Group Inc., the world’s biggest commercial real estate brokerage, negotiated the deal for both Societe Generale and JPMorgan, said Robert McGrath, a spokesman for the firm.

Rockefeller Group Inc. holds the majority interest in 1221 Avenue of the Americas, Societe Generale’s current headquarters building, which is also known as the McGraw Hill Building. Brian Mahoney, a spokesman for Rockefeller Group in New York, declined to comment.

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board paid about $576 million for a 45 percent interest in 1221 Avenue of the Americas in May. The seller was SL Green Realty Corp., New York’s biggest owner of office buildings.

Along with JPMorgan, 245 Park also houses the headquarters of Major League Baseball.

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

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Kara Wetzel in New York at kwetzel@bloomberg.net; Nick Baker at nbaker7@bloomberg.net