Koreans Negotiating €1.3B-Plus Brussels Finance Tower Deal and More Asia Real Estate Headlines

A 36-storey office tower in Brussels leads the way in Mingtiandi’s roundup of real estate headlines today with the news that the Korean consortium that snapped up Microsoft’s UK HQ last year is negotiating the purchase of Belgium’s biggest commercial building for more than $1.4 billion.

In other news around the region, a US private equity firm is said to be aiming to list India’s second REIT next year, while a Singapore-based company launches Southeast Asia’s largest co-living property.

Elsewhere, the private equity manager controlled by Suchad Chiaranussati has put a Sydney development up for sale.

Koreans Negotiating €1.3B-Plus Deal for Brussels Finance Tower

A consortium backed by Korea’s Meritz Securities is in exclusive negotiations to buy the 36-storey Finance Tower in Brussels for more than €1.3 billion ($1.4 billion), people with knowledge of the talks said.

The venture is in talks to buy the building from Dutch property company Breevast BV, which is being advised by CBRE Group, the people said, asking not to be identified as the talks are private. Negotiations are ongoing, they said. The consortium includes European asset manager The Valesco Group, and Seoul-based AIP Asset Management. The same Meritz-backed consortium bought the UK headquarters of Microsoft for about £100 million ($122.7 million) last year. Read more>>

Blackstone and K Raheja to List India’s Second REIT Next Year

Just months after the successful listing of Blackstone Group LP-backed Embassy Office Parks – India’s first real estate investment trust – a joint venture between the private equity firm and K Raheja Corp is in advanced stages of filing papers with the market regulator to list the nation’s second REIT, two people aware of the development said.

K Raheja Corp is in the process for finalising bankers for the REIT and is expected to file its draft red herring prospectus by the end of this year. The listing, the person said, will most likely take place in 2020-21. Read more>>

WeWork Said Pressing Ahead With IPO Road Show Despite Doubts

WeWork owner The We Company plans to proceed with an investor roadshow for its initial public offering (IPO) as early as next week, braving concerns over the valuation it can achieve in a listing, people familiar with the matter said on Friday.

The company’s IPO has been in doubt since Thursday, after sources said the U.S. office sharing startup now estimated it could be valued at a little over $20 billion in a listing, less than half the $47 billion valuation it achieved in a private fundraising round in January. Read more>>

Ascott’s Lyf Opens SE Asia’s Biggest Co-living Location

The largest co-living property in Southeast Asia has been opened here under the name of Lyf Funan Singapore which caters for the millennial generation, its managing staff said during a media preview.

The property covers a floor area of about 120,000 square feet (11,148 square metres) and houses 412 bed rooms across 279 apartments. It’s developed by Ascott, which is CapitaLand’s wholly-owned lodging business unit, said Mindy Teo, deputy managing director of Lyf. Read more>>

Far East Hospitality to Open First Hotel in Japan

Singapore hotelier Far East Hospitality (FEH) on Thursday said it is opening its first hotel in Japan in the second quarter of next year, aiming to do so before the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, according to The Business Times.  

Called Village Hotel Ariake Tokyo, the hotel will be the first under the group’s Village brand outside of Singapore. The 306-key hotel is owned under a 50:50 joint venture between FEH and Far East Organization, and is located in Koto City in the eastern part of Tokyo, near the Ariake waterfront area. Read more>>

GuocoLand–Hong Leong JV Bids S$800M for Bugis Site

A Singapore Government Land Sales site at Tan Quee Lan Street attracted only two bids at the close of the tender on September 5.

The top bid of S$800 million ($579 million) was submitted by a joint venture between GuocoLand and subsidiaries of Hong Leong Holdings, namely Intrepid Investments and Hong Realty. The bid price translates as S$1,535 per square foot, which is 4.2 percent higher than the second bid of S$1,473 per square foot submitted by City Developments Ltd (CDL) and MCL Land (a subsidiary of Hongkong Land), says Tricia Song, Colliers International head of research for Singapore. Read more>>

India’s Largest Developer Lays Off 400 Staff as Debts Mount

Macrotech Developers Ltd, formerly Lodha Group, has laid off 350-400 people, amid the liquidity crunch, mounting debt and the ongoing slump in the real estate market, said three people, requesting anonymity.

Macrotech, considered India’s largest realty developer by sales, has dismissed mid-to-junior level employees and contract workers, including engineers, architects and salespeople, working at its housing projects, said the first person. Read more>>

SC Capital Puts Sydney CBD Development On the Market

Singapore-based SC Capital is selling its inner Sydney development site with plans for a $700 million mixed-use tower and hotel development within Sydney’s prime financial precinct.

The proposed development, at 4-6 Bligh Street, incorporates an A-grade office building and 5-Star lifestyle hotel, which would be the first new five-star hotel in Sydney’s core CBD in twenty years. Read more>>

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