Allianz Real Estate, the property arm of the German insurer, and Singapore-headquartered Alpha Investment Partners have acquired an 85% stake in the Ronsin Technology Center in Beijing for about S$1.3bn (US$949m).
Beijing Ronsin Technology Center (image: Allianz Real Estate)
The seller, Shanghai-headquartered office landlord D&J China, will retain the remaining 15% interest in the S$1.5bn complex.
The 131,000 sq.m. grade A office complex comprises six office towers and retail podium and is located above the Laiguangying subway station in the Wangjing sub-district in Beijing.
“Beijing is demonstrating strong resilience to current volatility in the global markets while Wangjing is a well-established sub-market for technology and innovation firms, which is experiencing persistent demand with tight supply,” said Rushabh Desai, Asia-Pacific CEO of Allianz Real Estate.
Completed in March 2018, the Ronsin Technology Center has an occupancy rate of 70%.
Allianz Real Estate will hold 62% interest in the joint venture and Alpha, the private fund manager of Keppel Capital, will own the outstanding 38% JV share.
“Over the last year, we have expanded our team through the hire of several China experts, enabling us to manage our growing book of China assets directly,” Desai added.
The transaction marks Allianz Real Estate’s second direct office purchase in Beijing, following its acquisition of a 98% interest in ZLink, a grade A office asset located in Zhongguancun, in 2018.
“The acquisition of Ronsin Technology Center will be AAMTF III’s first investment in Beijing and is in line with our strategy to expand Keppel Capital’s presence in China,” said Keppel Capital CEO Christina Tan.
Alpha-managed fund AAMTF III and Keppel Land China acquired Yi Fang Tower in Shanghai’s North Bund area for US$685m (RMB 4.6bn) earlier this year.
The deal is expected to close in Q4 2019.
Allianz Real Estate had €67.1bn in assets under management, as of end-June 2019.