German lender DekaBank is to underwrite a €290 million financing of the purchase of a Paris office tower by a Korean investor consortium, Real Estate Capital understands.
The bank is in advanced discussion to provide a five-year loan to the group of insurers, led by Hyundai M&F Insurance, which is closing in on the purchase of the French headquarters of cosmetics giant L’Oreal.
The loan will be secured by the 41,000 square metres So Ouest Plaza, which contains offices and ancillary leisure uses and is located in the 17th arrondissement of the French capital.
The Korean investors are buying the building from French REIT Unibail-Rodamco for around €474 million, implying a circa 60 percent loan-to-value for DekaBank’s financing.
The German bank is familiar with the property. Last July, it joined forces with fellow German lender Helaba to provide a €100 million loan to finance the purchase of another element of the So Ouest complex. The financing funded Korean investor Samsung SRA Asset Management’s €330 million purchase of Tour So Ouest, also bought from Unibail-Rodamco.
The overall So Ouest complex comprises a shopping centre on top of which Tour So Ouest sits. So Ouest Plaza sits adjacent. L’Oreal occupies 30,000 square metres of the 23-storey tower with a lease which expires in 2024. As well as offices it contains 4,000 square metres of retail, plus a cinema and a restaurant.
The core Paris office market has proved popular with Korean investors in recent months. In January, Korea Investment & Securities purchased the headquarters of pharmaceutical firm Novartis from BNP Paribas Real Estate Property Development for around €400 million. Last October, La Française Real Estate Investment Management, on behalf of Korea Post, bought the offices of French bank Natixis for €176 million.
DekaBank declined to comment.
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