South Korea’s Hana Financial Investment Co. was named the preferred bidder for The Squaire, a commercial complex connected to the Frankfurt International Airport in Germany, offered at an estimated 1.3 trillion won ($1.1 billion).

According to sources from the investment banking industry on Sunday, a consortium led by Hana Financial Investment and London-based asset manager AGC Equity Partners was chosen as the preferred candidate to acquire the 140,000-square-meter landmark building in Germany put up for sale by global private equity fund Blackstone. They are expected to sign a final deal in the end of this month or early next month.

The Squaire sitting atop a high-speed train station is nine stories tall and 660 meters long. It hosts French tire maker Michelin, multinational consulting firm KPMG, German air carrier Rufthansa, IT service provider Atos and Hilton Hotel. It is linked to Terminal 1 of Frankfurt International Airport and three highways.

Hana Financial has been aggressively expanding alternative investment assets after becoming a comprehensive finance and investment business entity that is allowed to provide corporate lending services and act as a prime broker in large trading services last year by bumping up its capital to 3 trillion won. It has expanded its property portfolio by taking over a stake in Spanish solar power plant, acquiring BNP Paribas’ Poland headquarters and investing in an office building in Amsterdam in the first half of this year.

By Park Jae-young and Choi Mira

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