Stars snap up Walker Tower apartments at sky-high prices Although it is still being refitted, helped by a $45m loan, hedge-fund managers, overseas billionaires, film stars and "artists" have already bought up more than a quarter of the building, paying an average of $3,400 per sq ft. At the time, the ceilings had been falsely lowered, making the edifice appear dark and cramped on the inside, but the property entrepreneur - billed as America's answer to the Candy brothers - says he saw it had "good bones." Verizon's sale process was stymied by the financial crisis. Mr Stern was in the lift of Walker Tower as the investment bank Lehman Brothers collapsed, following its over-exposure to subprime real-estate lending. The collapse, which marked the start of the financial crisis, shattered investor confidence and sent other would-be buyers of the Walker Tower running. Now Mr Stern is set to cash in, alongside Starwood Capital and Property Markets group, which helped to fund the deal. Only Verizon, which still occupies the lower floors - and possibly the odd billionaire-buyer - will feel like they have been stung. Verizon has indicated it would like to buy Vodafone out of their Verizon Wireless joint venture, in what would mark one of the biggest corporate deals for years. Analysts predict the US giant would need to offer up to $140bn to get a deal off the ground. Vodafone sources have indicated that it is open to discussions at the right level, but Verizon has warned that it is likely to make a hostile approach in any case if it is rebuffed.