Samsung SRA selects IGIS as preferred bidder for K-Twin Towers — Korea Herald

In Seoul, South Korea, Samsung SRA Asset Management has selected IGIS Asset Management as the preferred bidder to acquire the K-Twin Towers office complex for 1.05 trillion won, or $782 million. The complex is located opposite Gyeongbokgung Palace in the Gwanghwamun area and is fully occupied by tenants including Microsoft Korea and Woori Card.

As Korea Herald reports, the deal price amounts to about 12.52 million won per square meter. This is the highest price for an office building with a total area of at least 33,058 square meters in Seoul's central business district. Samsung SRA acquired K-Twin Towers in 2018 for 713.2 billion won, so the current price exceeds the purchase amount by more than 330 billion won. At least five potential buyers took part in the bidding, including the country's three largest real estate asset management companies.

Other office assets for sale

According to industry sources, Mirae Asset Global Investments, the owner of State Tower Namsan, has also begun preparations to sell the office building in central Seoul. The company has invited local and foreign real estate advisers to submit proposals for handling the sale. Reports said applications are due in early November, with a preferred buyer planned to be selected early next year.

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State Tower Namsan is expected to sell for at least 800 billion won, or about 12.1 million won per square meter. Mirae Asset acquired the property for 588.6 billion won in 2019. Its tenants include Korea Investment Corp., Bain & Co., Pfizer Korea and BMW Korea.

Meanwhile, insurer ABL Life has selected Koramco REITs Management and Trust as the preferred buyer of ABL Tower in the Yeouido area of western Seoul. The buyer's bid was reportedly about 346 billion won, or approximately 8.8 million won per square meter. ABL Life seeks to sell the building to improve capital efficiency and strengthen its financial structure after joining Woori Financial Group last year.

Demand for premium offices persists

According to CBRE Korea, the average vacancy rate for Grade A offices in Seoul's three main business districts fell by 1.1 percentage points from the previous quarter to 3.1%. At the same time, the total value of office building transactions in the city fell by 27% in August to 718 billion won, from 983.4 billion won in July, according to an analysis of Ministry of Land registry records.