이 기사는 2021년 07월 02일 07시32분 thebell에 표출된 기사입니다

The first real estate investment trust (REIT) launched by SK Group’s property investment arm has raised 155 billion won ($137 million) in a pre-initial public offering funding round led by the Korean Federation of Community Credit Cooperatives (KFCC) and a real estate fund run by IGIS Asset Management.

The KFCC and IGIS’s REITs-focused fund each invested 47 billion won in SK REIT, according to sources. Other investors included KORAMCO’s two real estate funds, with each investing 38 billion won and 9 billion won, Samsung Securities (5.5 billion won), Korea Investment & Securities (5.5 billion won) and Meritz Securities (3 billion won).

SK REIT is aiming to list around September and plans to raise proceeds of about 231.2 billion won. Korea Investment & Securities and Samsung Securities are serving as lead managers, with each brokerage firm set to underwrite 92.5 billion won or 40% of the total offering. SK Securities will underwrite the remaining 46.2 billion won as a co-manager.

About 70% of the total offering will be allocated to institutional investors, with the remaining 30% going to retail investors. The split is subject to change depending on the subscription results in the book building process.

SK REIT plans to use the funds from the offering to repay part of loans taken out to purchase its assets – which consist of SK’s headquarters building, named SK Seorin Building, and a 100% stake in Clean Energy REIT, another vehicle created by SK’s property investment arm.

SK REIT bought SK Seorin Building for 1 trillion won, equivalent to the appraised value. Its tenants, mainly SK affiliates, will lease space on a triple-net basis, meaning a tenant is responsible for property taxes and maintenance in addition to rent. This type of lease reduces the return volatility of a REIT.

Clean Energy REIT, a subsidiary of SK REIT, owns and operates SK Energy’s network of 116 gas stations nationwide. It purchased the refiner’s gas station assets for 765.4 billion won, of which equity was 338.6 billion won.

SK REIT, for the first time among publicly traded REITs in the domestic market, plans to pay dividends to investors on a quarterly basis. It reportedly aims for a dividend yield in the mid 5% range, higher than an average REITs dividend yield of 5.04% last year. (Reporting by Jin-young Ko)