With the economic recession deepening in Europe, things aren’t getting better for PSA Peugeot Citroën, which decided to sell its Parisian headquarters to raise cash and lower its mounting debts.

The French group signed an agreement to sell the building that staffs some 2,000 people to Ivanhoe Cambridge, a subsidiary of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, for €245.5 million (US$325 million).

However, PSA Peugeot Citroën will continue to use the building, as the company will lease back the property under a renewable nine-year lease.

The sale was part of the property disposal programme announced by PSA Peugeot Citroën last February during the presentation of the firm’s 2011 financial results.

More recently, PSA sold a seven percent stake to General Motors for €304 million (US$403 million at today’s exchange rates).

PHOTO GALLERY

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