Mirae Asset Daewoo, South Korea’s largest brokerage by assets, said it is seeking to acquire Vodafone Germany’s office complex in Dusseldorf for 350 billion won ($303 million).
The securities firm said it was recently named as the sole preffered bidder for the acquisition of the office building in the city in western Germany. It is the Korean company’s first overseas investment since Mirae Asset Securities acquired KDB Daewoo Securities in early 2016.
The office complex, named Vodafone Campus, includes a 19-story skyscraper, an eight-story building and a parking garage. The construction of the three buildings was completed in 2012, and the telco giant’s German unit has a 20-year lease to use the buildings until 2032. The company can extend the contract by up to 10 years, Mirae Asset Daewoo said.
Based in London, Vodafone Group is the world’s third-largest telecommunications company in terms of subscribers. It has 462 million subscribers around the world with its revenue reaching 41 billion pounds ($50.4 billion) as of the end of 2016, according to the company’s annual report.
The Korean brokerage said it expects to reap a 5 percent yield from the real estate investment in Dusseldorf and additional profits from rising inflation in Germany.
“Interest in European real estate by Korean investors is likely to rise driven by the expectation of the low interest rate environment persisting. Borrowing costs in Germany are particularly low and offer a significant positive leverage effect on income returns, which coupled with the stable and diversified nature of the German economy make a compelling proposition to investors,” said Callum Young, director of investment advisory at Savills Korea.
By Kim Yoon-mi (yoonmi@heraldcorp.com)