April 19, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] A consortium led by US private equity giant Kolberg Kravis Roberts has been named the preferred bidder to acquire Centropolis, 26-story twin tower buildings in central Seoul, according to industry sources on April 2.

The purchasing price is expected to exceed 1 trillion won (US$923 million) or 26 million won per 3.3 square meters, outpacing last year’s two big deals -- KEB Hana Bank headquarters worth 910 billion won and Signature Tower worth 700 billion won. 

The Centropolis twin towers in central Seoul

Related:
Samsung nears deal to acquire Seoul building for record price


KKR joined hands with Korean asset management firm IGIS for the deal. Blackstone, Millinium Inmark and Prudential affiliate M&G Real Estate also competed to the end.

The mega deal comes after KKR, along with Hong Kong-based LIM Advisors, earned a profit of almost 200 billion won in their sale of K-Twin Tower, 22-story twin buildings in the city center, for 710 billion won to Samsung SRA Asset Management, a property unit of Samsung Life, in December. Samsung paid 28.1 million won per 3.3 square meters -- the priciest per unit area for a commercial building in Korea.

By Lee Ji-yoon (jylee@heraldcorp.com)