Pine & Partners and OurCircuit to Build 139 Billion Won 'Ansan Data Center' [fn Market Watch]

[Financial News] Pine & Partners Asset Management and OurCircuit are building an Ansan edge data center with a total project cost of 139 billion won. NH Investment & Securities and Korea Investment & Securities arranged 111 billion won in project financing (PF) loans. The project is being led by OurCircuit CEO Kim Gwang-hun, who contributed land in kind.
Sejong Networks will participate as a tenant. The ties between Sejong Networks and Pine & Partners Asset Management, which is overseeing asset management, are also drawing attention.
According to investment banking (IB) industry sources on the 15th, the development of the 'Ansan OUR Data Center' secured financing for its total project cost of 139 billion won and broke ground on the 12th.
The project was funded with 28 billion won in equity and 111 billion won in PF loans. NH Investment & Securities and Korea Investment & Securities jointly arranged the loans. The site is at 79 Sinwon-ro 91beon-gil, Danwon-gu, Ansan. The center will have four above-ground floors and a gross floor area of 2,131 pyeong. Its total power intake capacity is 7.6 MW, including an IT load of 4.82 MW.
CJ Logistics' construction division is handling construction, with completion targeted for October 2027.
OurCircuit, which is leading the project, was established in December 2013. It has been engaged in manufacturing electronics and masks, as well as real estate leasing. For this project, CEO Kim Gwang-hun contributed the company's factory site in kind and participated as a common shareholder. The structure raises the site's asset value by converting industrial land into a data center.
The tenant mix is also drawing interest. Sejong Networks and CJ OliveNetworks, among others, will occupy space at the center. Sejong Networks was established in April 2024 through the spin-off of Sejong Telecom's telecommunications business division. Pine & Partners Asset Management previously acquired from Hana Alternative Asset Management a Bundang internet data center (IDC) that Sejong Telecom had leased on a master-lease basis.
The facility will have a gross floor area of 2,667 pyeong. It can secure an additional 3 MW from Korea Electric Power Corporation, raising its power intake capacity to as much as 9.75 MW. CJ OliveNetworks is also a major tenant at Pine Data Center in Jangseong, South Jeolla Province, which Pine & Partners Asset Management is developing. The asset manager is seen as expanding the tenant network it has built through existing deals into new projects.
The project has all the advantages of an edge data center in the Seoul metropolitan area. The region's power grid is saturated, making power connections and permits difficult to secure. One analysis found that around 35% of data center sites in the region had been unable to break ground for more than a year. Edge data centers, by contrast, cost less to develop than hyperscale facilities, making financing easier and construction times shorter. Their smaller sale size also makes it easier to exit investments. A real estate IB industry official said, "Because these are mid-sized facilities close to city centers, they can command high rents, and a multi-tenant model with several tenants can also reduce vacancy risk." 
PF financing for mid-sized data centers has continued to gain momentum. CJ Logistics' construction division also won a contract to convert a logistics center in Pungsan-dong, Hanam, into an edge data center. The project secured 162 billion won in main PF financing. NH Investment & Securities also arranged financing for a 40 MW-class hyperscale data center that IGIS Asset Management is building in Choji-dong, Ansan. Korea Investment & Securities is expanding its related financing, including by joining JB Asset Management to launch a 300 billion won blind private equity fund (PEF) focused on data centers.
Pine & Partners Asset Management was established in 2019 as Pine Steel Capital and registered with the Financial Services Commission in 2020. It is led by CEO Kim Chang-ho, a former head of the overseas real estate team at the Public Officials Benefit Association. While at the association, Kim handled transactions including the acquisition and subsequent sale of the Thames Court building in London (IRR of 9%) and KB Financial Tower (formerly the Eugene Investment & Securities building; IRR of 9%). Last year, the firm set up a fund for the Bundang Sejong Telecom edge data center. This year, it also set up a Dongtan–Ansan edge data center fund. It is currently raising its third blind fund for edge data centers in the Seoul metropolitan area jointly with a leading conglomerate serving as a strategic investor (SI).
 

[email protected] Kang Gu-gwi Reporter