NongHyup likely to join $654 mn bid for Seoul D Tower office building

South Korea’s NongHyup Financial Group Inc. (NH Financial) is likely to join the race for the purchase of Donuimun D Tower, a landmark office building in Seoul valued at around 900 billion won ($653.6 million), according to investment banking sources on Monday.

NH Financial subsidiary NongHyup REITs Management Co. is reviewing an information memorandum on the sale of D Tower and is one of the largest institutions among the 20 potential buyers, sources said. The potential bidders are set to visit the property for evaluation this week.

NH Financial is a limited partner of Mastern Investment Management’s fund for the prime office with 26 above ground and seven underground stories with 86,268 square meters of floor area. The Seoul-based asset manager acquired the property for 650 billion won in 2020.

Mastern has tapped the consortium of Colliers Korea, CBRE Korea and Deloitte Anjin LLC as the lead manager for the deal.  

“The deal is expected to attract many investors, even though it is located in the Seodamun area, about 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) from the capital’s Central Business District (CBD),” a real estate industry official said.

“The property, along with Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance headquarters The Asset in the Gangnam Business District, is garnering attention from the market as an office with more than 20,000 pyeong (66,116 square meters) of floor area,” the official added.

NH Financial is eyeing expanding its 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, according to sources.
 
Since Mastern acquired the office in 2020, the building has been leased out to mid-sized conglomerate DL Group for its headquarters and key affiliates, such as construction firm DL E&C Co., DL Chemical and DL Energy Co.

DL E&C, a limited partner in Mastern’s fund for the property, is understood to have little interest in acquiring the tower, sources said.

Write to Byeong-Hwa Ryu at hwahwa@hankyung.com

Jihyun Kim edited this article.