Korea’s Hana Buys N Carolina Office Building for $201M and More Asia Real Estate Headlines

In today’s edition of our regional news roundup, a North Carolina office tower finds a South Korean buyer, office-sharing firm WeWork mulls another path to going public after its failed IPO, and a unit of China Evergrande Group eyes the purchase of a property management rival.

Korea’s Hana Buys North Carolina Office Building for $201M

CBRE has facilitated the sale of a 358,414 square foot (33,298 square metre) office building in Uptown Charlotte on behalf of the seller, Stream Realty Partners. Stream sold the property to Hana Alternative Asset Management for a purchase price of $201 million. Wells Fargo anchors the office building, which was fully leased at the time of sale.

The 15-storey property is located at 300 South Brevard St, within a half-mile from the Charlotte Convention Center. Middle C Jazz Club and the Public House restaurant take up retail space in the building facing Brevard Street. In 2020, Stream completed a full-scale renovation, including a full elevator modernisation, roof replacement, electrical upgrade, common area renovations and facade improvements. Read more>>

WeWork Considers Going Public Via SPAC

A year after its failed bid at going public, WeWork is considering an alternative route.

The office-sharing firm is considering going public via a blank-check company, which would allow it to circumvent the more traditional initial public offering process, the Wall Street Journal reported. Read more>>

Evergrande Unit Buying Property Mgmt Rival for $233M

China Evergrande Group’s property services unit bought a rival firm for RMB 1.5 billion ($233 million) to help meet its ambitions of increasing profit by 50 percent this year and becoming the country’s largest property manager.

Evergrande Property Services Group agreed to buy Ningbo Yatai Hotel Property Services, adding 940 projects serving 2 million homeowners to its portfolio, the company said in a statement Friday. Ningbo Yatai also manages office buildings and industrial parks. Read more>>

Parkway Life REIT Sells Off Japan Industrial Property for $37.1M

Parkway Life REIT, through its special purpose entity incorporated in Japan, has entered into a purchase and sale agreement with real estate investment firm Hulic Co for the sale of an industrial property in Japan known as P-Life Matsudo for a consideration of JPY 2.9 billion ($37.1 million).

Completion of the agreement took place on 29 January. Read more>>

Wanda Sports Group Delisted From Nasdaq

A year and half after its US listing, Wanda Sports Group Co Ltd was delisted from the Nasdaq last Friday. The stock never topped its first-day high and got pounded as the pandemic disrupted the sporting events on which the company depends.

Wanda Sports & Media Hong Kong Holdings Co Ltd will acquire all Class A ordinary shares of Wanda Sports and privatise it at $2.55 per American depositary share. The privatisation is worth $100 million. Read more>>

DLF Hires Bankers for Launch of India JV REIT with GIC

Realty major DLF’s rental arm DCCDL on Friday said it had appointed consultants to prepare itself for the launch of its REIT, but the timing of the public issue will be decided by its shareholders. DLF Cyber City Developers Ltd is a joint venture of DLF Ltd and Singapore sovereign wealth firm GIC. DLF holds a 66.67 percent stake in the JV, while GIC has a 33.33 percent shareholding.

“The timing of launch of REIT will be decided by the two shareholders — DLF and GIC. The management has taken a decision to be REIT-ready,” DLF’s managing director for rental business, Sriram Khattar, told analysts in an investors call. The timing of the REIT’s launch will depend on many factors, including the interest rate and cap rates, he said. Read more>>

Boustead Projects to Acquire 49% of VN Project for $6.9M

BP-Vietnam Development, the wholly-owned subsidiary of Boustead Projects, entered into a sale and purchase agreement with Bui Duc Manh to fully acquire his 8.6 million ordinary shares in KTG Industrial Bac Ninh Development Joint Stock Company on 29 January.

The shares amount to a 49 percent stake in KTG Industrial. Read more>>

Skyscrapers Lose Lustre for Japanese Companies During COVID-19

Japan’s decades-long love affair with status-symbol office towers is now fading, as the pandemic upends work styles and puts a strain on company finances.

In a country where companies have long taken pride in owning their buildings, advertising agency Dentsu Group and logistics firm Nippon Express are now considering selling their Tokyo headquarters. Avex, an entertainment company, also plans to offload its head office in the Japanese capital. Read more>>

CDL Hospitality Trust’s H2 DPS Falls 29.2%

CDL Hospitality Trust’s distribution per stapled security for the second half of 2020 declined by 29.2 percent to 3.44 Singapore cents, from 4.86 cents a year ago.

Gross revenue was down 36.5 percent to S$65.5 million ($49.2 million) for the six months ended 31 December 2020, from S$103.1 million the year before. Meanwhile, net property income sank 46.2 percent to S$39.6 million for the same period, from S$73.6 million a year ago. Read more>>

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