South Korea's Public Officials Benefit Association (POBA) has committed €80 million ($95 million) to AXA Investment Managers' fund, which recently raised €1.9 billion to invest primarily in life science offices and research facilities in Europe and Asia, according to AXA.
The fund, managed by AXA IM Alts, the French asset manager's alternatives business unit, made its first investment via Kadans Life Science Partner, which develops and operates European science parks and lab offices.
Kadans belongs to AXA IM which manages €162 billion in assets. Kadans' portfolio comprises 167,000 square meters of operating space across 22 assets in key research locations in the Netherlands, UK and Germany, as well as eight developments due to deliver 120,000 square meters of new space over the next three years.
POBA's investment in the AXA fund was made via a co-investment fund of fund (FoF), Kyobo AXA Global Real Estate Co-investment Fund No.1, launched by AXA's South Korean joint venture.
The FoF was set up to invest in funds managed by AXA IM Alts, targeting emerging real estate sectors such as logistics, data centers, life science offices and research facilities in major European and Asian countries.
It was not immediately confirmed how much the FoF has raised and whether the vehicle is exclusively dedicated to POBA, a $15 billion retirement fund for Korean provincial government employees.
The announcement confirmed and clarified the KED Global Edition's earlier report that
POBA has decided to invest around €100 million in Kadans Science Partner, a Netherlands-based life sciences real estate developer
POBA made the investment through its $300 million separately managed account (SMA) run by Kyobo AXA Investment Managers. The SMA will participate in other AXA IM-led investments.
"While polarization by asset and sector is progressing due to rapidly changing market conditions after COVID-19, competition is intensifying due to the concentration of investment demand for high-quality assets across the globe," Kyobo AXA said in a statement on Tuesday.
Korean institutional investors are chasing large global portfolios and stable investment destinations, as well as strategic partnerships with global asset managers.
"Therefore, Kyobo AXA Investment Managers has launched an exclusive fund that can invest in funds offered by AXA IM Alts, meeting Public Officials Benefit Association (POBA)'s real estate investment strategy and needs," it added.
The FoF is now reviewing additional investments in logistics, housing, and data centers in Europe and Asia, with a plan to execute at least one or two more investments in the near future.
Write to Jong-woo Kim at
jongwoo@hankyung.comYeonhee Kim edited this article.
