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Shinhan Alpha REIT to buy Twincity Namsan offices for W238.6b

Aug. 19, 2020 - 14:09 By Son Ji-hyoung
(Courtesy of Twincity Namsan)
Shinhan Alpha REIT rolled out plans to buy 37,600 square meters of office space in Twincity Namsan in central Seoul for 238.6 billion won ($201.6 million) from KB Asset Management, a filing showed Wednesday.

The property occupies 20 floors of the 30-story commercial building. Built in 2015 and located in Yongsan-gu, in the vicinity of Seoul Station, Twincity Namsan is composed of two buildings -- commercial and residential.

The office segment is composed of 18 floors above ground and two basement floors of the commercial building. Tenants include CJ OliveNetworks, Sketchers Korea and Maersk Korea.

The floors above the office segment are owned by Macquarie Asset Management and are used for hotel accommodations.

Once the deal closes, the property will become the fourth asset in the listed real estate investment trust after the deal. The acquisition is expected to be finalized in late August.

Shinhan Alpha REIT was selected as the preferred bidder in July for the real estate acquisition. KB Asset Management has owned the asset since 2015, acquiring it from Hong Kong-based Gaw Capital Partners. Gaw acquired majority stake in the property while it was still under construction and later partnered with KB as a backer for the investment vehicle KB used to make the purchase.

KB Asset, in cooperation with KB Real Estate Trust, bought the two buildings except for a hotel on the property for 230 billion won.

The transaction between Shinhan Alpha REIT and KB Asset is expected to close on Aug. 26. Igis Asset Management, which looked to buy the asset since last year, withdrew from the bid in April.

Shinhan Alpha REIT has been publicly traded on Korea’s main bourse Kospi since 2018. Its assets include Krafton Tower in technology hub Pangyo in Gyeonggi Province and apartment building complex Yongsan the Prime in Seoul.

By Son Ji-hyoung (consnow@heraldcorp.com)