S.Korea NPS to buy Berlin Sony Center for $767 mln

SEOUL, April 25 (Reuters) - South Korea's national pension fund, the world's fifth biggest, said on Sunday it was in the final stage of talks to buy Sony Center in Berlin, Germany, for about 850 billion won ($767 million).

National Pension Service (NPS) said in a statement that it had been named a preferred bidder for Sony Center, Berlin's largest commercial complex put up for sale by a Morgan Stanley real estate fund. NPS plans to complete the purchase as early as in May.

Following the deal, part of the Korean pension fund's investment diversification, overseas real estate would account for 1.3 percent of its 290 trillion won assets, NPS said.

NPS said without elaborating that it would look for more alternative investments in global companies, technology and energy firms.

Sony Center, initially built as the European headquarters of Japan's Sony Corp, is occupied by Sony, Deutsche Bahn , and Sanofi-Aventis, among others.

($1=1108.3 Won)

(Reporting by Rhee So-eui; Editing by Jerry Norton)

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