An NH Investment & Securities Co. Ltd.-sponsored South Korean real estate investment trust placed an about 740 billion won bid for Samsung C&T Corp.'s 32-story office tower in Seoul to become the preferred buyer of the property, leaving behind competitors such as Blackstone Group LP and Mapletree Investments Pte Ltd., The Korea Economic Daily's Korean Investors reported, citing sources privy to the matter.

The sale is expected to be the priciest in South Korea in terms of unit price, with most bidders offering to pay between 30 million won and 31 million won per 3.3 square meters, the report noted, citing MoneyToday, adding the bids put the building's value between 737 billion won and 762 billion won.

Aside from preferred buyer Koramco REITs Management and Trust Co. Ltd., NH Investment also bid at the asset's auction through a consortium led by NongHyup Financial Group Inc. The South Korean brokerage firm plans to invest capital into Koramco to close the deal, according to the report.

Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance Co. Ltd. occupies the 81,117-square-meter property through 2021, which was the head office of Samsung C&T until 2016, according to the July 3 article.

As of July 2, US$1 was equivalent to 1,119.63 won.