South Korea's national pension fund NPS has confirmed it is in the final stage of talks to buy the Sony Center in Berlin for about $767 mln (EUR 576 mln), according to a report by news wire Reuters.
South Korea's national pension fund NPS has confirmed it is in the final stage of talks to buy the Sony Center in Berlin for about $767 mln (EUR 576 mln), according to a report by news wire Reuters.
NPS said in a statement that it had been named a preferred bidder for Sony Center, Berlin's largest commercial complex put up for sale by Morgan Stanley's MSREF VI real estate fund. NPS plans to complete the purchase by May.
Following the deal, overseas real estate would account for 1.3% of its 290 trillion won assets, NPS said. The acquisition would mark the entrance of the Korean investor in Continental Europe after its purchase of the HSBC tower at Canary Wharf for £772 mln (EUR 880 mln) in late 2009.
Morgan Stanley's MSREF VI fund bought the 135,000 m2 asset for around EUR 600 mln in mid-2008, sources told PropertyEU.
Sony Center has been on the market for over six months. The property consists of office space let to Deutsche Bahn but also a cinema and some retail elements.
