Macquarie Buying Half-Stake in Shinsegae Korea Mall Project for $48M

Macquarie Asset Management is acquiring a half-stake in a mall project near South Korea’s southeastern coast for KRW 64.5 billion ($48 million), according to company representatives and a statement by its new joint venture partner.

The Australian investor is buying into Starfield Changwon, a nine-storey development with an expected total area of ​​217,000 square metres (2.3 million square feet), the project’s owner, Seoul-based Shinsegae Group, said in a Korean-language release.

The mall in South Korea’s 11th-largest city of Changwon has faced numerous design changes and construction delays since it was announced in 2017, with a completion date now scheduled for the second half of 2027.

“Through this investment, Starfield Changwon is expected to gain stable funding to accelerate its business, as well as secure a major shareholder with diverse experience and financial know-how, which will be of great help to the overall business,” Shinsegae Group.

Former Army Base

The Starfield Changwon site is the former base of South Korea’s 39th Infantry Division. The project’s original scale was seven floors underground and six floors above ground with a total floor area of ​​248,000 square metres, but the design was settled this year at four floors underground, nine floors above ground and a reduction in floor area of 32,000 square metres.

The development initially drew the ire of small-business groups and politicians who feared damage to local mom-and-pop shops. After gauging public opinion, Changwon officials accepted the proposal in 2019.

“Starfield Changwon passed the traffic impact assessment conditionally on 29 August due to design changes, and plans to complete the building design change permit within the year and then speed up construction,” Shinsegae Group said this week.

Shinsegae operates five Starfield locations across South Korea, including the country’s second-largest mall, Starfield Hanam. The 459,498 square metre complex is a joint venture of Shinsegae and US giant Taubman Centers.

Big-Ticket Data Deals

Macquarie’s latest transaction comes as the Sydney-based group earlier this week agreed to sell its stake in data centre giant AirTrunk in a deal valuing the platform at $16 billion.

In South Korea, the Aussie investment manager struck a deal last month to acquire the 40-megawatt Hanam Data Centre near Seoul IGIS Asset Management for KRW 734 billion ($530 million).

In June, Macquarie confirmed the final closing of an opportunistic real estate fund, with the vehicle having raised $1.9 billion in equity commitments to deploy under a global mandate focused predominantly on developed markets.