The sweetheart deal under which the state of New York was to have helped to pay for IBM Corp’s new headquarters in Armonk by taking over some of IBM’s redundant Hudson Valley buildings (CI No 2,606), seems to have blown up in the company’s face. The company is extremely disappointed that New York State Comptroller Carl McCall has withheld his approval of contracts for lease of some of its facilities. In an effort to keep IBM headquarted in Armonk, New York Governor George Pataki agreed that the state would enter into five 25-year lease-purchase agreements totaling just over $50m for the buildings in Kingston and Glendale, New York. McCall questioned whether the agreements were permitted under other provisions and said the economic aspects of this proposal raise serious doubts as to the justification for the transactions, which were hailed in February last year for saving taxpayers money. IBM is now muttering about rethinking the location for its new headquarters.
