이 기사는 2022년 04월 29일 08시04분 thebell에 표출된 기사입니다

Private equity firm KKR invited top real estate consultants to pitch for a sale process of its logistics facility in Incheon, South Korea, which will be leased by the country’s ecommerce giant Coupang.

The US firm sent a request for proposals to only a handful of advisers, with the deadline set for April 22, according to a source familiar with the matter. Among the real estate consulting firms invited to pitch on Tuesday were CBRE, Savills, Jones Lang LaSalle and Colliers.

Accounting firms Samjung KPMG and Deloitte Anjin, which have an established track record in real estate transactions, also received a request for proposals from KKR.

However, it is said only the real estate consulting firms made presentations to ensure fairness in the competition. The two accounting firms were previously hired by the private equity firm to audit some of its portfolio companies.

KKR is expected to finalize the selection as soon as early next month, and then the selected firm is likely to start to market the property to potential buyers soon.

The private equity firm signed a memorandum of understanding with Incheon Metropolitan City and SK Incheon Petrochem in July 2018 to construct the logistics center in Incheon’s Seongnam-dong. In June 2019, a special purpose vehicle (SPV) for project financing was formed to fund the construction. KKR is the largest investor in the SPV, which is run by Pacific Asset Management.

The 299,251-square-meter warehouse is expected to be completed in May 2023 and will be entirely leased by Coupang, which invested about 25.5 billion won ($20 million) in the SPV in 2020.

The price tag is estimated to be a little below 600 billion won. But many expect that strong interest from potential buyers could drive up the sale price, espeically given a stable tenant profile and growing demand for logistics property investment. (Reporting by Gyoung-tae Kim)