Amorepacific’s contract to sell Gangnam building falls through

South Korea’s cosmetics giant Amorepacific said Monday it will seek a new buyer for its office building in Nonhyun, southern Seoul, as the preferred bidder has backed out.

According to the firm, Hanyang Construction -- which was chosen as the preferred bidder -- canceled the contract to buy Sungam Building for 160 billion won ($131.2 million).

Amorepacific had said it decided to sell its building to secure liquidity and to improve solvency. The contracted price accounted for about 2 percent of its total assets as of end-2018.

The cosmetics firm said it will continue to look for a new buyer. Some 15 companies were said to have submitted bids, according to industry sources.

The nine-story building was built in 1985 and sits on 12,302 square meters near Gangnam-gu Office and Hakdong Subway Station.

By Jo He-rim (herim@heraldcorp.com)