Mirae Asset Securities in Talks to Sell Seoul Office Building to Woori

Mirae Asset Securities is in due diligence to sell a building it occupies in Seoul’s Yeouido financial district, with the struggling Korean brokerage seizing on a hot local office market to boost its fortunes.

Woori Asset Management has been chosen as the preferred negotiating party in the disposal of the 18-storey office block, Mirae Asset Securities announced this week in a stock filing. KED Global reported last October that the 1984-vintage building’s value was estimated at KRW 300 billion ($223.7 million) by banking sources.

“We plan to discuss details related to the sale of the Yeouido office building with the preferred bidder,” the securities unit of Mirae Asset Financial Group said in the Tuesday filing. “It is scheduled to be re-announced in the future when related matters are confirmed or within six months.”

The pending sale comes as the South Korean capital’s office market continues to be a top draw for investors, as seen by the most recent tie-up between LaSalle Investment Management and local developer KT Estate to acquire a Gangnam commercial site for $110 million.

Ownership’s Long History

The local branches of Mirae Asset Securities and Mirae Asset Life Insurance are among the tenants at the Yeouido office property, which measures 39,087 square metres (420,729 square feet) in floor area, according to KED Global.

The asset was originally owned by the securities unit of the now-defunct Daewoo Group, which sold the building to Goldman Sachs for KRW 47.6 billion in 2001, the news site said. Macquarie Group bought the property for KRW 72 billion in 2004 and sold it to a Deutsche Bank subsidiary for KRW 112 billion in 2007.

Daewoo Securities reclaimed ownership of the asset in 2008, and Mirae Asset Securities took over the property in 2016 as the firm was merged with Daewoo Securities, KED Global said.

The latest news follows Brookfield Asset Management’s confirmation this week that it would sell the Conrad Seoul to ARA Asset Management’s Korean unit for $300 million — a deal made possible when sister firm Mirae Asset Global Investment was removed from the running in 2022 after Korean authorities questioned the proposed level of debt to finance the hotel acquisition.

In March, S&P Global Ratings lowered its outlook to negative on Mirae Asset Securities on account of the brokerage’s exposure to ailing property markets at home and overseas.

First-Half Fireworks

In addition to LaSalle and KT Estate’s winning bid last month to acquire the Gangnam commercial site, Seoul’s scorching office market has seen a series of big-ticket transactions in the first half of 2024.

Blackstone’s $593.1 million sale of Arc Place on Teheran-ro to local fund manager Koramco ranked as Asia Pacific’s largest transaction of a single property in the first quarter, according to MSCI Real Assets.

Along the same commercial strip, Hanwha Asset Management in March sold the T412 tower for KRW 330 billion, while IGIS Asset Management acquired the Metro Tower in Seoul’s central business district for KRW 415.6 billion during the same month.