South Korean investor Samsung Life Insurance has emerged as the buyer of Unibail-Rodamco鈥檚 So Ouest office building in Levallois-Perret, Paris, PropertyEU can reveal.
According to well-informed market sources, Samsung is close to finalising the acquision of the building for 鈧�330 mln in what is believed to be the life insurer's first real estate transaction in France.
PropertyEU reported in February that Unibail Rodamco agreed to sell the 33,300 m2 office building to an undisclosed buyer.
Located right above the So Ouest shopping centre, the asset is a fully refurbished office building, fully let since 2014 to business software company SAP France and Pharmaceutical Research Associates on long-term leases. It boasts BREEAM-in-use and HQE environmentally-sustainable certificates.
Samsung has already been active elsewhere in Europe. In October 2014, it acquired the Silberturm office tower in Frankfurt from IVG for 鈧�460 mln. BNP Paribas Real Estate advised the South Koreans on that acquisition and is believed to be advising on the Paris deal as well.
Also in 2014, PropertyEU broke the news that the South Korean giant Samsung had inked the acquisition of an office scheme at Milan鈥檚 Porta Nuova development project from funds managed by Hines Italia.
Samsung Life Insurance and Samsung Electronics bought one of the so-called 'Diamantini', a Kohn Pederson Fox Associates-designed office scheme offering 12,500 m2 located adjacent to the main tower in the 40,500 m2 Varesine section of Porta Nuova, a 254,000 m2 mixed-use development in downtown Milan.
