BMO Financial Group has sold its 25% interest in the land located at King and Bay Streets in Toronto to Manulife Financial for approximately $120 million.

BMO expects to net an after-tax gain of approximately $90 million from the sale of the land. BMO will continue to lease a significant portion of First Canadian Place/

Discussions between BMO Financial Group and Manulife Financial to complete this complex transaction began in 2001. The agreement was finalized and closed today.

Prior to this transaction, BMO Financial Group and Manulife Financial had each owned a 25% undivided interest in the land at First Canadian Place, with O&Y FPT Inc., a subsidiary of O&Y Properties Corporation, owning the other 50% . As a result of the transaction, Manulife Financial and O&Y FPT now each own 50% of the land. O&Y FPT Inc. owns 100% of the 2.7 million square foot office complex under a lease agreement with the land ownership group until the year 2023.

BMO Financial Group currently occupies more than one million square feet of space in the property. It will retain its long-term lease agreements in the building and will continue to be the principal tenant.