Maguire nears exit

The temperamental downtown landlord is on the verge of being forced out as CEO of the company he founded, according to the WSJ. The board of Maguire Properties apparently is under pressure from the company's major investors to name Nelson Rising the new CEO, perhaps as early as tomorrow. Rising is a former Maguire executive who went over to Catellus Development. A board member, Walter Weisman, would replace Maguire as chairman. As with most everything having to do with Maguire, it's a complicated story. There have been numerous efforts to sell the company, but because the L.A./OC portfolio is so diversified - and leveraged - and because this isn't a great time to sell anything, Maguire hasn't had much success.

Mr. Maguire, 73 years old, has been struggling for months to buy at least part of the company himself and as recently as Thursday morning was still talking to his partner, Brookfield Properties Corp., in his latest proposed deal. But he informed those involved that he was dropping his efforts to buy Maguire. Mr. Maguire continued to negotiate with the board Friday to maintain some face-saving role in running the company, people said. Mr. Rising could not be reached. Mr. Weisman and Mr. Maguire didn't return calls seeking comment.

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If Mr. Maguire is forced out it would be a humbling end for the prolific developer who has been assembling office buildings since 1966. Like many other large real estate companies, Maguire Properties attempted to sell itself at the top of the market when Maguire's stock was trading between $35 and $40 a share. But unlike most others it was unable to pull off a deal. In late afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange, Maguire shares were trading down $1.42, or 8.5%, at $15.13.