SINGAPORE—Manulife Real Estate said Tuesday it had acquired 8 Cross Street, a 355,000-square-foot office tower in Singapore's Raffles CBD. The Toronto-based insurer is paying approximately US$526 million for the 28-story property; the seller was DBS Group Holdings, according to a regulatory filing. It's the second largest acquisition to date in Manulife Real Estate's global portfolio.

“8 Cross Street is our first real estate acquisition in Singapore,” says Kevin Adolphe, president and CEO of Manulife Real Estate, which will establish the property as offices for Manulife Singapore. “It is a reflection of our expanding commitments in Singapore, where Manulife has maintained operations for 36 years. This acquisition enables us to relocate offices into a prominently located CBD tower, while accommodating future growth plans for our operations.”

Known as the PwC Building, 8 Cross Street was developed by DBS China Square Ltd. in 1999. When DBS announced the sale this past February, it noted that Manulife Real Estate would assume approximately US$286 million in debt on the tower. CBRE brokered the sale, according to published reports.

Anchor tenant PricewaterhouseCoopers, which occupies nearly 50% of 8 Cross Street, will vacate the property when it moves to the Marina One complex, thus providing re-leasing opportunities for the new ownership, published reports say. Manulife's lease for about 100,000 square feet at Manulife Centre expires later this year.