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Photo courtesy of Yonhap News |
[Alpha Biz= Kim Jisun] IGIS Asset Management Co., Ltd. is moving forward with the sale of its prime office asset in Gangnam, Seoul, ‘Yeoksam Centerfield,’ while major investors, including the National Pension Service (NPS), are pushing to replace the fund’s general partner (GP).
According to sources in the investment banking (IB) sector on January 20, the NPS Fund Management Headquarters held an investment committee meeting and approved a proposal to replace the GP managing the Yeoksam Centerfield fund. Despite the objections from key co-investors, NPS and Shinsegae Property, IGIS Asset Management has maintained its intention to proceed with the sale, prompting the move to replace the management firm.
Yeoksam Centerfield is jointly held by Shinsegae Property and NPS, each owning 49.7% of the shares, while IGIS Asset Management holds approximately 0.5%. Following the GP replacement decision, NPS and Shinsegae Property plan to convene a shareholders’ meeting to approve the measure and select a new management firm to take over the asset.
The conflict intensified after IGIS Asset Management circulated a Request for Proposal (RFP) to overseas advisors for the sale of Yeoksam Centerfield. Shinsegae Property criticized the move as a unilateral decision made without prior consultation, and NPS expressed opposition in line with Shinsegae Property’s stance.
However, IGIS Asset Management argued that, given the approaching fund maturity, it must prioritize investors’ interests and therefore could not halt the sale process. The firm maintains that selling the asset to return capital to investors is consistent with its fiduciary duty, and under the Capital Markets Act, asset managers must operate independently of individual investor instructions.
With positions at an impasse, NPS has decided to convene a shareholders’ meeting to proceed with the GP replacement. Under Korean law, changing a fund manager requires amending the investment company’s articles of association, which necessitates a special resolution at a shareholders’ meeting.
The investment committee also confirmed that it decided to sell the Starfield Goyang asset. NPS invested in this project through IGIS Asset Management, which had raised approximately KRW 380 billion (around 49% stake) from NPS and collaborated with Shinsegae Property (51% stake) to develop Starfield Goyang.
Alphabiz Reporter Kim Jisun(stockmk2020@alphabiz.co.kr)
