IGIS Clinches Deal to Buy Seoul Tower for $650M and More Asia Real Estate Headlines

Seoul’s robust office market is back in the news today with a Gangnam tower set to change hands for around $650 million. Australia’s Scape also makes the list as it nears a deal to buy Brookfield’s Aussie senior living platform and a Macau hospitality property finds a buyer at more than 80 percent off the asking price.

IGIS Clinches Deal to Buy Seoul Tower From KB Fund for $650M

IGIS Asset Management is acquiring the Seoul International Tower (SI Tower), the headquarters building of Hyundai Mobis. It has been confirmed that after being selected as the preferred negotiator in March, they conducted due diligence until recently and made a final decision to purchase the Gangnam district property for KRW 897.1 billion ($650 million).

On the 20th, according to banking industry sources, IGIS Asset Management held back-to-back board meetings and shareholder meetings for the ‘IGIS Value Up No. 1 REITs’ and signed a contract for the SI Tower acquisition with KB Asset Management. Including additional costs such as acquisition tax and advisory fees, as well as capital procurement and facility investment (CAPEX) costs according to remodeling plans, the total transaction value is around KRW 1 trillion. Read more>>

Australia’s Scape Said Set to Buy Brookfield Senior Living Platform in $1.9B Deal

It may just be a coincidence that top representatives from APG were in Sydney last week at a time that Scape was said to be putting finishing touches on an A$3 billion-plus ($1.9 billion) deal to buy Aveo from Brookfield.

But the visit coincides with talk APG may surface as a key backer to the transaction, along with money out of South Korea. With respect to South Korean funds, some were pointing to NPS. Advised by Deutsche Bank and Macquarie Capital, Scape entered exclusive talks with Brookfield in April to buy Aveo, fending off competition from Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC. Read more>>

Macau Ultra-luxury Casino Sells for $51M – 83% Off Asking Price

Long-troubled Macau hotel THE 13 has been purchased for HK$400 million ($51 million), according to Hong Kong media reports.

THE 13, originally envisioned as an uber-luxury hotel and casino before its construction was plagued by financial woes, was first put up for public auction in March 2024 with an asking price of HK$2.4 billion. Although reports at the time indicated that up to 24 parties had expressed interest, no deal was ultimately reached. A new round of bidding began on 19 May. Read more>>

Ares Said to Take Over Three Funds From Indonesia’s Northstar

Ares Management Corp. has taken over control of three funds previously managed by Indonesian private equity firm Northstar Group despite the latter’s investments in failed startup eFishery, according to people familiar with the matter.

The deal comes after months of detailed discussions and due diligence work by the global alternative assets manager, the people said, asking not to be identified because the matter is private. About 20 Northstar staff including investment professionals will move to Ares, though its two co-founders Patrick Walujo and Glenn Sugita won’t be joining, one of the people added. Read more>>

Hong Kong Hotel Deals Seen Jumping 50% This Year

Hong Kong is becoming a magnet for hotel investments after some investors snapped up assets on the cheap this year, banking on a recovery in tourism and shrinking room supply to brighten the industry outlook, according to property consultants.

Investments in the sector could reach about HK$5 billion ($637 million), an almost 50 per cent increase from 2024 after solid activity in the first quarter, according to Colliers. JLL forecasts hotel transactions to hit $800 million. Read more>>

Texas Governor Bans Chinese Property Purchases

A bill to restrict property ownership in Texas by Chinese citizens has become law, more than two years after it was first introduced, setting up what could be a prolonged legal and political battle as critics plan to file a suit challenging it.

Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican, announced on Saturday that he had signed the bill, which also targets nationals from Iran, North Korea and Russia, into law. Read more>>

China Rolls Out Property Supermarkets to Boost Home Sales

With another decline in housing prices in May and sentiment among buyers remaining subdued, Chinese authorities are rolling out “property supermarkets”, which are online or offline hubs where consumers can view homes.

Chengdu last week became the latest city to launch a homebuying platform in an effort to make homebuying more transparent and efficient. The capital of southwestern China’s Sichuan province partnered with nearly 30 state-owned and private developers to feature more than 50 projects on a mobile app that allows users to contact developers and track sales. Read more>>

Alibaba Confirms Second Korean Data Centre

Alibaba Cloud has confirmed that a second data center will launch in South Korea by the end of this month.

The company says that the expansion of its infrastructure is due to growing demand in the country for its cloud computing and AI services from local businesses. Reports that Alibaba was nearing a launch in South Korea emerged earlier this month. The company first announced plans for a South Korea cloud region in late 2021, opening its first data center in the country in March 2022. Read more>>

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