The Korean National Pension Service, with around $200 billion under management, has allocated more than $1 billion to European property indirectly via the UK-based Rockspring investment manager. Among other London assets, has bought the HSBC headquarters tower for around $1 billion. The Berlin investment would constitute its first investment in continental Europe if it is finalized, and is likely to be either direct or transacted via the Chicago-based investment manager Hines.

Morgan Stanley Real Estate Funds bought Sony Center for around $809 million in 2008, and bids are said by industry sources to be pitched now around $135 million less. Last October, MSREF mandated the broker BNP Paribas Real Estate to sell the asset, on Berlin's historic Potsdamer Platz, as well as the Park Tower near Frankfurt's Old Opera house. It originally paid around $1.2 billion for both in a package, with the Cologne-based Corpus Sireo also taking a minority stake in Sony Center that may not be part of the current sale, sources say.

Sony Center, opened in 2000 and built for a price of around $1 billion, is one of Berlin's modern emblematic towers and fits with the Korean NPS' stated strategy of seeking trophy assets in Europe. The centre encompasses eight buildings offering around 1.4 million square feet of floor space. Aside from the Japanese electronics group, anchor tenants include the Deutsche Bahn railway and the Aventis-Sanofi pharmaceuticals group.