D Tower Donuimun (Courtesy of DL Group)
South Korea’s NongHyup Financial Group Inc. (NH Financial) is poised to acquire landmark office building Donuimun D Tower for around 900 billion won ($650.1 million), people familiar with the matter said on Monday.
Seoul-based Mastern Investment Management has named NongHyup REITs Management Co. (NH REITs) as the preferred bidder for the office, which is valued at 10.6 million won per square meter, banking industry sources said.
NH REITs has beaten five competitors in the bid, including a consortium led by IGIS Asset Management Co. and Public Officials Benefit Association (POBA).
Donuimun D Tower is a prime office that has 26 stories above ground and seven underground with 86,268 square meters of floor area. The building is located in Seodaemun area, around 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) away from the Central Business District (CBD) of Seoul.
Mastern acquired the office for 650 billion won in 2020 via its private real estate fund, in which NH Financial invested as a limited partner. The building has been leased out to Korean mid-sized conglomerate DL Group and its major affiliates such as construction firm DL E&C Co., DL Chemical and DL Energy Co.
NH Financial is increasing its real estate assets in the Seodaemun area, where its headquarters and those of its affiliates such as NongHyup Bank, NongHyup Property & Casualty Insurance Co. and NongHyup Life Insurance Co. are located.
By Byeong-Hwa Ryu
hwahwa@hankyung.com
Jihyun Kim edited this article.
