Mirae Asset puts HI Investment headquarters on the market

South Korea’s Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. is seeking to sell off HI Investment & Securities Co. headquarters, the value of which is estimated in the early 400 billion won ($298.8 million) range, sources familiar with the matter said on Thursday.

Mirae Asset has tapped global real estate investment managers Jones Lang LaSalle and Cushman & Wakefield as financial advisors and is set to start the bidding process as early as next month, according to sources.

The property, located in Seoul’s financial hub, the Yeouido district, has 19 stories above ground and seven underground with 49,826 square meters of gross floor area. Market insiders speculate the selling price will be in the early 400 billion won range, given the current high interest rate.

Mirae Asset bought the office building at 240 billion won in 2011, via Mirae Asset Maps Frontier Private Real Estate Trust No. 29, which manages capital from Korean institutional investors including National Pension Service (NPS). The property’s name was Hana Securities Building at the time.

It was renamed as KTB Building in 2012 when KTB Investment & Securities, which was rebranded as Daol Investment & Securities last year, became a major tenant. In 2020, Mirae Asset withdrew a plan to sell the property as Daol decided to move out, implying an increase in the vacancy rate and impact on the asset value.

The office was renamed as HI Investment & Securities Building in late 2021 as the brokerage arm of Korea's DGB Financial Group moved the headquarters to the property.

More landmarks in Yeouido are on the market. Mirae Asset Financial Group is set to start a bidding process for its Mirae Asset Securities Building in the financial district, sources said on Wednesday. The office, leased out to Mirae Asset affiliate branches, is expected to post around 300 billion won in selling price.  

Canada’s Brookfield Asset Management is looking for financial advisors in the sale of Conrad Hotel Seoul, located in the International Finance Center (IFC) in Yeouido, according to banking sources. The value of the hotel will exceed 500 billion won, sources said.

Brookfield acquired IFC Seoul, comprised of the hotel, shopping mall and three office buildings, at 2.55 trillion won from American International Group Inc. (AIG) in 2016. The Canadian investment giant is understood to divest the hotel for refinancing, according to sources.

Mirae Asset sought to buy IFC Seoul at 4.1 trillion won last year, but the deal broke down as Korea’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport rejected the firm’s financing plan, saying the scheme was heavily dependent on borrowing and could hurt investors.  

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

Jihyun Kim edited this article.