South Korean asset management firm Vestas Investment Management Co. will buy an office tower of Allianz Group in Berlin, Germany, at about 400 billion won ($ 335 million) with funds from major Korean insurers and pension fund managers.

According to investment bank sources on Tuesday, Vestas Investment Management has decided to join hands with the major institutional investors in Korea to acquire Alianz Group’s office tower dubbed as Alianz Campus that is under construction in Berlin. Vestas Investment Management, which was recently picked as a preferred negotiator, plans to complete the deal during the January-March period.

Of the total price, about 160 billion won will be put forward by Korean institutional investors through private equity real estate fund operated by Vestas Investment Management while the remaining will be sourced from loans from financial institutions. The property is expected to yield 8 percent returns a year.

Alianz Campus located in Adlershof, southern parts of Berlin, is expected to be completed in March 2019. The office tower consists of three five-story buildings and covers 62,213 square meters. Allianz Deutschland AG, a holding company, will lease the new tower for 15 years, moving from Treptowers.

The investors have high expectations for their recent property purchase in Berlin that is regarded as the most desirable place to invest in Europe as the city enjoying rapid economic growth and low unemployment rate boasts of low vacancy in commercial real estate.

Separately, Vestas Investment is planning to acquire an office building of L’Oréal near Paris. The So Ouest Plaza with 45,000 square meters of space is located in a northwestern suburb of Paris and the French cosmetics company is leasing the entire building except for stores in the lowest floors.

By Kang Doo-soon and Song Gwang-sup

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