Asia Property to buy WeWork building in Seoul

Seoul-based real estate investment firm Asia Property has been picked as the sole preferred bidder for an office building currently occupied by coworking space provider WeWork in the bustling Gangnam office district after beating four other contenders.

According to sources in the investment banking industry on Thursday, a consortium joined by Savills Korea, NAI Korea and Shinyoung Asset Management has chosen Asia Property as the exclusive bidder for the office tower, located in one of Seoul's most sought-after business districts.

The building spans five basement floors and 19 above-ground floors, with a total floor area of 2,126 square meters. Its anchor tenant is WeWork.

Asia Property reportedly offered 35 million won ($24,310) per 3.3 square meters for an asset deal, or 38 million won for a share deal.  

An asset deal means buying the property directly, while a share deal involves buying shares of the company that owns the property.

The preferred bidder outbid four rivals by proposing the highest price, said sources.

Originally built in 1993, the property was leased to WeWork in 2017 under a 15-year agreement. 

In 2020, Hana Alternative Asset Management acquired the building from KTB Asset Management, now DAOL Asset Management, for 168 billion won. 

Earlier this year, Hana put the so-called WeWork building, along with another building in Seoul's Central Business District (CBD), up for sale.

The sale of the so-called City Tower Building in the CBD was, however, pulled back due to a slowdown in the commercial real estate market in the district.

But the Gangnam-based WeWork building remains a coveted asset thanks to its prime location on Teheran-ro, adjacent to the construction site of Hyundai Motor Group’s new headquarters, known as the Hyundai Global Business Complex (GBC).

Write to Gyeong-Jin Min at min@hankyung.com

Sookyung Seo edited this article.