JoongAng Group will sell three assets, including the JoongAng Ilbo headquarters building, to Koramco REITs Management and Trust.
On the 21st, JoongAng Holdings said it selected Koramco REITs Management and Trust as the preferred bidder for JoongAng Group's real estate asset securitization project, including the JoongAng Ilbo building.
Specifically, the assets to be securitized are three properties: the "JoongAng Ilbo building" and the "JTBC building" in Sangam-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul, and the "Ilsan Studio" in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, with the total transaction size said to be about 550 billion won.
JoongAng Group earlier selected Colliers Korea, a global real estate services company, as the advisor for the real estate asset sale and has been seeking a buyer.
The sale will proceed as a "sale and leaseback." JoongAng Group will remain as a long-term tenant for 10 years after the sale and will maintain its business bases and newspaper and broadcasting production infrastructure.
JoongAng Group plans to use the sale proceeds to improve its financial structure. The funds are expected to be focused on repaying borrowings at group affiliates such as Contentree JoongAng.
A JoongAng Group official said, "The reality is that the overall domestic and overseas media business environment continues to face difficulties," adding, "This is a preemptive decision to maximize flexibility in capital management."
Koramco REITs Management and Trust is a company specializing in real estate REITs and asset management. Recently, it also established a 580 billion won real estate securitization REIT backed by Hyundai Motor's major business sites nationwide.
Koramco REITs Management and Trust set a target of completing the final transaction by the end of Aug. after due diligence on the assets, including the JoongAng Ilbo building, and discussions on detailed terms.