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An exterior view of Seorin Building in central Seoul, which SK Group affiliates use as the headquarters. (SK Group) |
SK Inc. said Wednesday that its board had approved an initial public offering of its wholly-owned subsidiary SK REITs in the second half.
This opens doors to SK REITs' plan to raise 231.2 billion won ($204.3 million) from the IPO, or 5,000 won apiece, as suggested in the prospectus earlier this month. Korea Investment & Securities, Samsung Securities and SK Securities will be underwriters of the IPO.
SK REITs will start trading on the Korea Exchange‘s main board Kospi, following the IPO.
SK REITs, the first real estate investment trust by South Korea’s third-largest conglomerate, owns the group‘s headquarters building in central Seoul following a 1.8 trillion won acquisition. The REIT is also poised to control 116 gas stations operated by SK Energy, valued at 765.4 billion won, starting July.
The tenants of the commercial real estate assets, namely SK affiliates including SK Inc., SK Innovation, SK E&S and SK Energy, have signed a long term leasing contract of at least five years with the REIT, SK Holdings said in a statement.
“SK REITs will rise to an investment destination where investors are able to enjoy a high dividend income on a regular basis,” read the statement.
The news came after SK REITs fetched a combined 155 billion won in pre-IPO fundraising from seven institutions including Korean Federation of Community Credit Cooperatives and Shinhan Bank. The proceeds will be used to complete the acquisition of the portfolio assets, SK Inc. said.
SK REITs garnered a license from the Land Ministry in June.
By Son Ji-hyoung (
consnow@heraldcorp.com)
