UBS sells Japan real-estate venture to KKR for 230 billion yen

Tokyo

UBS Group is exiting its involvement in a Japanese real-estate venture partly held with Mitsubishi, with private-equity firm KKR & Co taking control of the enterprise in a deal valued at 230 billion yen (S$2.6 billion).

Mitsubishi said on Thursday (Mar 17) that it was selling its 51 per cent stake in the venture with UBS Asset Management to KKR for 116 billion yen, the Japanese trading company said.

At the same time, a KKR subsidiary called 76KK will also buy the remaining 49 per cent stake held by UBS Group, Mitsubishi said in an exchange filing.

Mitsubishi and UBS had been considering the sale of their jointly owned real-estate management company for about 200 billion yen, people with knowledge of the matter said last month.

The venture, Mitsubishi Corp-UBS Realty, manages assets for Japan real estate investment trusts, including Japan Metropolitan Fund Investment Corp and Industrial & Infrastructure Fund Investment Corp.

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The deal "deepens KKR's commitment to Japan, where KKR has had a local presence and team since 2006", KKR said in a statement.

"The transaction also provides KKR's global real estate business with immediate scale in a large, important market."

Zurich-based UBS sold its wealth-management business in Spain last year and disposed of its domestic wealth business in Austria in 2020.

Mitsubishi Corp-UBS Realty had 156 employees as of July, said its website.

UBS said its asset management, wealth management, and investment banking businesses operating in Japan are unaffected by the transaction.

Mitsubishi, Japan's biggest trading company with operations in industries ranging from energy and minerals to food, said it will continue to expand its real-estate development and asset management business.

The deal is expected to close in April, said the statement. BLOOMBERG