Seibu to Sell Tokyo Garden Terrace Kioicho to Blackstone

Tokyo, Dec. 12 (Jiji Press)--Seibu Holdings Inc. said Thursday that it will sell Tokyo Garden Terrace Kioicho, a large commercial building built on a former hotel site in Tokyo’s Chiyoda Ward, to U.S. investment firm Blackstone Inc.

The property is expected to be sold for about 400 billion yen, and Seibu Holdings expects to gain 260.4 billion yen from the deal.

The Japanese hotel and railway group plans to use the proceeds to reinforce its financial base, with a view to renovating its hotels and undertaking new redevelopment projects.

With the transfer of the building scheduled for Feb. 28 next year, Seibu Holdings revised up its earnings projections for the year ending March 2025. Operating revenue is now estimated at 898 billion yen, up from 494 billion yen, operating profit at 289 billion yen, up from 45 billion yen, and net profit at 266 billion yen, up from 84 billion yen.

Seibu Holdings has a growth strategy that calls for increasing the value of its real estate assets, selling them, and using the proceeds for new development projects.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]