Mitsubishi Estate Asia (MEA) is seeking a buyer for its 30% stake in an office building it co-owns with Ping An Real Estate and Lendlease-managed APPF Commercial.
IPE Real Assets understands that the full value of Salesforce Tower, Sydney’s tallest skyscraper, is around A$2bn (€1.2bn).
MEA has appointed CBRE to manage the international sale process for its stake in the 180 George Street skyscraper, which is co-owns with Ping An Real Estate holding 50% and APPF Commercial holding 20%.
Yuzo Nishiyama, the head of MEA in Australia, said selling the stake in Salesforce Tower will be the firm’s first divestment in Australia.
Nishiyama added: “This divestment bolsters MEA’s strategic expansion in Australia, where we continue to participate in more development projects across our real estate sectors of focus, including living, office and industrial.”
Stuart McCann, CBRE’s head of international capital and capital advisors, Pacific and Southeast Asia, said: “International interest in the Australian office market, particularly the Sydney CBD, has noticeably improved in the last quarter.
“This is being driven by a combination of genuine value emerging, with pricing reverting 20-30% from the peak, together with continued strong leasing performance. Australia’s office sector now looks to represent the best value in the Asia Pacific region.”
Flint Davidson, CBRE’s head of capital markets Pacific, said: “180 George Street is Sydney’s newest premium-grade tower and has been built with the future of office in mind.
“With the expectation that the newest and best assets will continue to outperform, together with a constrained future supply pipeline, we expect capital will see this as a compelling opportunity to get set in the CBD core.”
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