이 기사는 2020년 02월 17일 08시00분 thebell에 표출된 기사입니다

KB Securities has invested in an iconic office building in Brussels, Belgium together with Meritz Securities, adding an achievement after its restructuring with an aim to gain a foothold in the real estate investment trust (REIT) sector.

KB Securities, in partnership with Meritz Securities, acquired a partial stake in Brussels' Finance Tower in a deal where the two South Korean brokerage firms bought shares worth a combined 780 billion won through a private REIT managed by JR AMC.

Total acquisition value of the office tower was 1.2 billion euros (1.98 trillion won). KB Securities and Meritz Securities invested 650 billion won and 130 billion won, respectively, while the remaining amount of the acquisition costs was funded by debt.

The two brokerage firms also plans to launch a public REIT with the office building to list on the domestic stock exchange. In the deal structure, the newly created REIT is a parent REIT, which will buy the entire interest in the private REIT by using the proceeds from the listing. This would make it South Korea’s first public REIT with foreign property assets.

It seems almost certain that, if an initial public offering (IPO) for the REIT takes place in the future, KB Securities, together with Meritz Securities, would lead the deal. In the domestic REIT market, it is common practice that firms that advise on the launch of a REIT also lead an IPO thereafter.

For example, Lotte REIT’s listing, the country’s biggest REIT IPO last year, was led by Korea Investment & Securities, which also previously worked with Lotte Shopping on the launch of the vehicle.

Fewer firms have a proven track record in the REIT deals as the country’s REIT market is still at an early stage. But KB Securities appears to keep ahead of competitors after restructuring its organization to create a new team dedicated to the REIT business, industry watchers said.

“With the growth of the REIT IPO market, interest in REIT underwriting business is also on the rise,” a market watcher said. “The lack of dominant players has led to intense competition among brokerage firms pursuing deals.”

(By reporter Jeon Kyung-jin)