AEW, Pebblestone buy Korean logistics center for $238 mn

Seoul-based Pebblestone Asset Management Co. and US real estate investor AEW Capital Management have completed the acquisition of a logistics center in Incheon, South Korea, for 310 billion won ($237.5 million), banking sources said on Thursday.

The transaction comprises 170 billion won in debt and 140 billion won in equity. Among the lenders is The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Ltd (HSBC), sources added. 

The facilities, dubbed Logishub Incheon, have about an 80% lease rate. Major tenants include CJ Logistics Corp. and Coupang Fulfillment Services.

Established in April, the logistics center has ambient and cold storage warehouses accessible to major districts in Seoul within 40 minutes. The total floor area of 126,000 square meters spans nine stories above ground and one below ground,

Transactions in Korea’s commercial real estate market were slow this year due to liquidity risks elevated by high interest rates. Domestic lenders have cut project finance in logistics centers amid increasing concerns about oversupply, rising construction costs and interest rate hikes.  

Meanwhile, more global investors with ample liquidity are seeking opportunities in Korean logistics centers.

Canada’s Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. bought Cheongna Logistics Center in Incheon for 659 billion won from a Korean SPC this past February .

Singapore-based Mapletree Investments Pte purchased a warehouse in western Icheon, Gyeonggi Province for 144.8 billion won from CBRE Investment Management earlyd this year.

In September, Singapore-listed CapitaLand Investment Ltd. bought a newly built logistics center in Anseong, a logistics hub in Gyeonggi Province, for S$120 million ($89.7 million) from a Korean special purpose company.

Managing more than 3 trillion won in assets, Pebblestone was founded in 2016 by real estate investment experts who previously worked at DWS Group and Samsung Life Insurance Co. Hwang Tae-woong, Pebblestone's chief executive, served as CEO of Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management between 2008 and 2015. 


Write to Byeong-Hwa Ryu at hwahwa@hankyung.com
Jihyun Kim edited this article.