Mastern Asset Management has acquired an office complex near Seoul known as Alpharium Tower for KRW 1.02 trillion (US$853 million) from ARA-Alpharium REIT, which is managed by ARA Korea. According to JLL, the deal is one of the largest office transactions in South Korea since the onset of the pandemic.

The unlisted REIT, which has held the asset since acquiring it newly built in 2016, was funded by various institutional investors in South Korea. According to IPE, these investors included the Korean Teachers Credit Union, the largest investor, and a Korean insurer, Nonghyup Life insurance, with ARA itself having held just over 10 percent of the REIT.

“ARA Korea’s avant-garde view on the Pangyo office market translated into more than doubling of the property value in less than five years,” said Anthony Kang, CEO of ARA Korea, reports Mingtiandi. “Looking ahead in 2022, we see buoyant demand for Korean real estate, underpinned by continued strong