South Korea’s top securities player Mirae Asset Daewoo Securities Co. will buy the German headquarters of British multinational telecommunications company Vodafone Group Plc. for about 350 billion won ($303 million), the first overseas investment under merged entity from December last year. Armed with equity capital of around 7 trillion won, it has been aggressively seeking for investment opportunities both at home and abroad.

According to sources from the investment banking industry on Sunday, Mirae Asset Daewoo Securities won the priority right to negotiate the deal to take over Vodafone Campus located in Dusseldorf. It has been conducting due diligence to complete the contract within this month after selecting an asset manager to operate real estate funds in Korea. The building has been rented out to Vodafone under a long-term lease of more than 15 years. The investment is expected to generate an annual return of 4 percent to 6 percent, according to sources.

Out of the total purchase cost of 350 billion won, Mirae Asset Daewoo Securities plans to cover 150 billion won and the remaining will be financed through loans from financial institutions. The brokerage house mulling various options could retain the investment for a long term or resell it to a real estate private equity fund operated by institutional or retail investors.

Founded in 2012, Vodafone Campus sitting on an 86,000-square-meter area is one of the landmark buildings of Dusseldorf, Germany. Besides the office building of Vodafone, the complex accommodates conference rooms, event halls and shopping malls. Vodafone plans to use the 19-story office building as the headquarters of its German operation until 2032.

Mirae Asset Daewoo has recently been showing an eager appetite for overseas real estate. Its affiliate Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. purchased 50 Marcus Clarke Street Building in Canberra, Australia last month. Mirae Asset Financial Group launched a real estate private equity fund investing in State Farm buildings in Dallas, America in September last year.

Mirae Asset Daewoo has been experimenting with various ways to boost profitability. It has participated as a financial investor in domestic firms’ merger and acquisition (M&A) of overseas companies.

By Kang Doo-soon and Song Gwang-sup

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