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SK Energy’s gas station located in Seoul (SK REIT) |
SK REIT, the first real estate investment trust from South Korea’s third-largest conglomerate SK Group, said Thursday that it has begun the process for an initial public offering on the country’s benchmark Kospi in September.
The REIT obtained approval on its registration statement from the Financial Service Commission. The REIT aims to raise 232.6 billion won ($203.7 million) from the IPO by floating around 46.5 million new shares at 5,000 won apiece.
Book building for institutional investors both in and out the country will take place Aug. 23-24. The three-day retail tranche is scheduled to wrap up on Sept. 1.
REIT, which can be traded on major exchanges, invests in real estate to be traded on major exchanges and provides investors with stakes in real estate, such as office buildings, apartments and hotels.
SK REIT’s value is estimated at around 2 trillion won, backed by the acquisition of the group’s 36-story headquarters in central Seoul last month and owning a 100 percent stake in Clean Energy REIT that purchased 116 gas stations operated by SK Energy across the country.
It plans to pay quarterly dividend yields to investors, which is expected to be the nation’s first case, unlike most locally listed REITs that payout dividends every six months. Potential investors seeking stable income on a regular basis are expected to flock to invest in the REITs, the company officials said.
“SK REIT is a sponsor-backed REIT that receives sponsor support from SK Group, so our portfolio has been structured with the sponsor’s strong network and pipeline of assets,” said Shin Do-chul, CEO of SK REIT.
“We’re looking forward to becoming a top-tier compound REIT that continuously adds the group’s core business-linked assets to the portfolio.”
By Jie Ye-eun (
yeeun@heraldcorp.com)
