This article was displayed on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove (MM) site at 4:34 p.m. on July 30, 2026.
Amorepacific's sale of regional office buildings, pursued as part of streamlining noncore assets, has been adrift for more than half a year due to differences over price with potential buyers. Early this year, it appointed Savills Korea as the sole lead manager and put four offices in Busan, Daegu, Daejeon and Gwangju on the market, but with little progress in the sale, it scrapped the exclusive contract and shifted to using multiple advisors.
According to the investment banking (IB) industry on the 30th, Amorepacific recently changed the method for selling its regional offices from a Savills Korea sole-lead structure to a nonexclusive multiple-lead structure. Instead of granting exclusivity to a particular lead manager, it is a so-called multi-lead approach that assigns lead roles on a deal-by-deal basis to the advisory firm that sources a buyer.
Amorepacific earlier finalized its plan in November last year to sell four regional offices. The idea was to strengthen competitiveness in its core cosmetics business by selling noncore assets. This is also in line with the "Vision 2035" presented last year by Amorepacific Chairman Seo Kyung-bae. Amorepacific plans to focus resources on overseas growth markets and reorganize domestic real estate and production facilities to raise funds, aiming by 2035 for 15 trillion won in revenue and a 70% share of overseas sales.
To sell the regional offices, Amorepacific in January selected global real estate services firm Savills Korea as the sole lead manager. Savills Korea immediately sent teaser letters (investment briefs) to potential buyers and began the sale process. The teaser letters included proposals for individual sales of each asset, package sales bundling multiple assets, and even conversion proposals leveraging the central urban locations.
However, snags in price talks and delays in the sale ultimately led to the end of Savills Korea's exclusive mandate. In fact, Savills Korea brought in some institutional investors as candidates to acquire Amorepacific's regional offices, but the transaction reportedly failed to make headway due to a gap in price expectations.
One reason the sale of Amorepacific's regional offices is delayed is that investment demand for regional offices is extremely weak.
The gross floor area of the buildings for sale is about 4,223 pyeong in Busan (13,964 square meters, including the Busan Choryang Building), 3,843 pyeong in Daejeon (12,705 square meters), 3,466 pyeong in Gwangju (10,797 square meters), and 1,853 pyeong in Daegu (6,127 square meters). All are prime assets located in central commercial districts of metropolitan municipalities.
But unlike prime offices in Seoul, which attract capital, regional assets do not have many potential buyers, industry sources said. As a result, the gap between the seller's asking price and the buyer's hoped-for purchase price is bound to be large.
An IB industry source said, "With real estate financing rates above 6%, it is not easy for investments in regional offices to meet return targets," adding, "In the end, only end users with local ties or development demand seeking conversion to hotels and the like are in play, and Amorepacific's expectations are understood to be too high."
Amorepacific plans to continue pursuing the sale under a multi-lead manager structure. In effect, it has shifted course to broaden the buyer base. While a sole-lead model allows for a faster sale process, the judgment was that it has limits in securing a large pool of buyers.
An Amorepacific official said, "It is true that the exclusive lead contract with Savills Korea has ended," adding, "Because the offices for sale are scattered across Busan, Daegu, Daejeon and Gwangju, we shifted our sale approach to using advisors by region."
Meanwhile, beyond the regional offices, Amorepacific is accelerating the sale of noncore assets such as logistics centers. Recently, it also decided to sell its health functional food factory in Anseong, Gyeonggi Province. The proceeds are expected to be used to expand K-beauty businesses targeting North America and other global markets and to strengthen online operations.