This article was published on July 30, 2025, at 2:24 p.m. on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove site.
In the acquisition bid for the Incheon Cheongna Logistics Center, where the sale price is expected to reach approximately 1 trillion won, global private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) and IGIS Asset Management jumped in.
According to the investment banking (IB) industry on the 30th, Brookfield Asset Management confirmed that KKR and IGIS Asset Management, the largest real estate management company in Korea, participated in the recent bidding for the sale of the Incheon Cheongna Logistics Center. Brookfield plans to select a preferred bidder (PB) in early August after confirming their acquisition intentions and funding methods. The sale is being managed by CBRE Korea.
The Cheongna Logistics Center, located at 291-1 Wonchang-dong, Seo-gu, Incheon, has a total floor area of about 430,000 square meters (approximately 130,000 pyeong), with 1 basement level and 10 above-ground floors. Completed at the end of 2022, the center has a rental area per floor that reaches around 19,000 pyeong, the largest level in Korea. With Coupang renting 80% of the space, it is considered a premium asset, attracting significant investor interest.
Previously, Brookfield purchased this center for approximately 659 billion won through a forward purchase agreement with KP Logistics PFV developed in February 2023. At the time of completion, the center was composed of approximately a 70:30 ratio of ambient to cold storage, but last year some of the cold storage was converted to ambient. The cold logistics centers are currently facing oversupply, making it difficult to find demand.
In the industry, it is reported that Brookfield aims for a sale price of about 1 trillion won, around 8 million won per 3.3 square meters (pyeong), although there are predictions that the actual sale price will fall short of this, around 900 billion won.
Nevertheless, given that this is a 'big deal' among the logistics center sales this year, who will participate in the bidding was crucial. The market had anticipated that overseas investors with substantial capital or domestic management firms operating core blind funds for pension funds and institutions would join the competition.
An IB industry source noted, 'The Cheongna Logistics Center offers good revenue due to its premium tenant Coupang, but given its large size, Brookfield seems to have opted for a public sale bidding method,' adding, 'Both are entering the deal with capital-rich investors, indicating fierce competition ahead.'
The industry assesses that the supply of logistics centers in the metropolitan area is decreasing recently. According to JLL Korea, a global commercial real estate service company, a total of four new logistics centers will be supplied to the A-grade (over 33,000 square meters) logistics center market in the metropolitan area in the second quarter of this year. This is the lowest supply in 15 quarters. The nominal rental price for ambient logistics centers in the metropolitan area is 35,300 won per 3.3 square meters, reflecting a 1.0% increase compared to the previous quarter. The average capital return rate (cap rate) for A-grade logistics centers in the metropolitan area remained unchanged at 5.3% compared to the previous quarter.