Mirae Asset named preferred bidder for IFC Seoul

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co., an asset management arm of Mirae Asset Financial Group in South Korea, will be in an exclusive talk with Brookfield Asset Management to acquire the International Finance Center (IFC) in Seoul.

The financial advisor Eastdil Secured LLC said on Wednesday that Mirae Asset has been picked as the preferred bidder, banking sources said.

The Shinsegae Property-IGIS Asset Management consortium, which had competed with Mirae Asset until the third bidding round, has dropped out of the final round.

The deal is expected to be around 4.1 trillion won ($3.2 billion), which would be the largest deal in Korea this year, sources said.

Brookfield Asset Management hired Eastdil Secured as the sales advisor and put IFC on the market in late 2021, held the first bidding round in December of the year and the second round in March of this year. The third round will take place on April 15.

In 2016, Brookfield Asset Management acquired IFC Seoul from the AIG Group for 2.55 trillion won in its first real estate purchase in Korea. The property comprises three office towers, five-star hotel Conrad Seoul and a shopping mall.

The preferred bidder Mirae Asset Global Investments and its affiliates manage 280 trillion won in assets as of the end of 2021.

The Korean asset management giant invests in global equities, fixed income and real estate as well as operates exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and individual pension plans. 

In April, the asset manager's real estate investment trust (REIT) said it is set to raise around 450 billion won in a June rights issue to purchase overseas logistics centers.

Mirae Asset Global REIT II, which filed a business license application last month, plans to acquire 11 logistics centers across the US and lease them to high-quality tenants such as Amazon and sportswear giant Foot Locker Retail. 

Write to Tae-Ho Lee at thlee@hankyung.com
Jihyun Kim edited this article.