Deal worth 37b yen; glitzy Ginza store to be leased back to jewellery retailer
(TOKYO) Goldman Sachs is buying Tiffany & Co’s flagship property in Tokyo for 37 billion yen (S$484 million), a person familiar with the deal said yesterday, in a move that underlines the appeal of prime real estate here to investors.
The person, who requested anonymity because he is not authorised to speak on the matter, confirmed a report in Japanese business daily The Nikkei Sunday that said the deal is being finalised following a bidding for the property in Tokyo’s glitzy Ginza shopping district.
The New York-based jewellery retailer Tiffany will lease the property to keep its store open there.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc spokesman Yoshihide Nakagawa and Tiffany spokeswoman Kyoko Okada declined comment on the report.
Japanese real estate has been recovering and gradually drawn investors amid an economic recovery.
Earlier this year, Morgan Stanley said it was buying 13 hotels from Japanese carrier All Nippon Airways Co for 281 billion yen, in a deal roughly doubling the American investment bank’s portfolio of hotels in Japan.
Japanese are among the world’s biggest fans of Tiffany products, although their popularity has waned somewhat in recent years amid intensifying competition from other brands.
Tiffany’s recorded better sales and profits for the first fiscal quarter, but reported that retail sales fell 2 per cent in Japan.
Source: AP (Business Times 28 Aug 07)
