* A partnership between Unizo Holdings Co. Ltd.'s employees and Lone Star Group is offering to buy the Japanese hotel chain operator for US$1.6 billion, Bloomberg News reported. The board-recommended ¥5,100-per-share takeover proposal from the partnership is above Unizo's current market value, as well as other bids submitted by suitors, including The Blackstone Group Inc. and Fortress Investment Group LLC, the news platform added, citing a statement from the target company.
* A consortium led by Hong Kong-based investment firm PAG and Seoul-headquartered Inmark Asset Management purchased the 615-room Grand Hyatt Seoul hotel from Hyatt Hotels Corp., according to JLL's Hotels & Hospitality Group, which acted as the sole adviser to the seller. While details of the transaction were not disclosed, market observers estimate the final amount of the deal to be roughly 560 billion won, The Korea Herald reported.
India
* Embassy Office Parks REIT engaged Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd. and Morgan Stanley as advisers for a fundraising plan for its potential purchase of commercial properties in India, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Blackstone's real estate investment trust joint venture with Embassy Group is still finalizing the size and structure of the financing but the unnamed sources noted it could be a combination of debt and the issuance of new units.
* India's Bank of Baroda is again seeking buyers for Dena Bank's head office in Mumbai's Bandra Kurla Complex, Mint reported, citing two people aware of the development. The latest marketing campaign for the property with a reserve price of 5.30 billion rupees follows the bank's failed negotiations with supposed buyers Life Insurance Corp. of India and ICICI Bank Ltd., the unnamed sources added.
Greater China
* Redsun Properties Group Ltd.'s Xuzhou Hongyao Property Development Co. Ltd. subsidiary entered into a 585.6 million yuan deal with Suzhou Lihe Property Development Co. Ltd. for the sale of a 30% stake in a mixed-use property development in Xuzhou, China, with an expected gross floor area of 280,000 square meters.
* Emperor International Holdings Ltd. filed an application with the Hong Kong stock exchange for the listing of a US$2.00 billion medium-term note program. Listing of the debt shelf with a one-year term after Dec. 19 was set to take effect Dec. 20, according to a filing.
Japan
* The Mitsui Fudosan Co. Ltd.-operated Lara Square Utsunomiya commercial facility will close at the end of January 2020, with both land and building to be sold to Es-Con Japan Ltd., Tokyo's The Nikkei reported. As part of the transaction, the buyer will also take over the contracts of the property's major tenants.
Other real estate news
* Hong Kong-listed C C Land Holdings Ltd. established a joint venture with MB Whiteleys SARL for the development of an approximately 3.3-acre site in London with a gross floor area of about 1.1 million square feet. As of Dec. 20, the Hong Kong-listed group's outstanding balance in relation to its contribution to the joint venture amounted to £245.6 million, according to a filing.
* A 40/60 joint venture between IREIT Global and Tikehau Capital settled the €133.8 million purchase of four freehold office buildings in Spain that are leased to tenants including Clece, Digitex, Gesif, Catalan Media Corp., Coca-Cola European Partners, DXC Technology and Roche. Singapore-listed City Developments Ltd. also participated in the transaction by providing a loan for IREIT's contribution.
* HNA Investment Group Co. Ltd.'s CWT International Ltd. subsidiary completed its £110 million sale of the Credit Suisse Group AG-leased office building at 17 Columbus Courtyard in London's Canary Wharf to Macquarie Group Ltd. and Sun Hung Kai Financial Group Ltd.
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Zia Ullah Khan and John Chan contributed to this report.