이 기사는 2022년 01월 14일 08시10분 thebell에 표출된 기사입니다

Mastern Investment Management, one of South Korea’s leading real estate investment firms, has entered the race to acquire the International Finance Center Seoul, joining other bidders for the three-tower complex which is expected to worth more than 3 trillion won ($2.5 billion).

The Seoul-based firm has been included among those shortlisted for acquiring the IFC Seoul, the mixed-use complex in the city’s major financial district Yeouido, according to industry sources.

Canadian investment firm Brookfield Asset Management kicked off a sale of the asset in the second half of last year, with Eastdil Secured as deal adviser. The New York-based real estate services firm also handled the sale process for the complex five years ago when Brookfield was selected as the buyer.

Other South Korean bidders who submitted preliminary bids for the IFC Seoul last December included IGIS Asset Management, Koramco REITs & Trust and Mirae Asset Group.

Although it was originally expected that the shortlisted bidders would be announced by the end of last month, the timeline has been a bit delayed. Eastdil Secured started telling some bidders earlier this month that they advanced to the final round of bidding.

IGIS, one of the country’s two biggest real estate investment firms along with Mastern, has reportedly also been included in the shortlist. The two firms took on each other in the bidding wars for high-profile real estate assets Emart’s head office building and Alpharium Tower last year.

Meanwhile, Singapore-based ARA Asset Management is said to be among the foreign investment firms that expressed interest in the complex. (Reporting by Gyoung-tae Kim)