8 Canada Sq.

LONDON-According to reports this morning, National Pension Service, a South Korean firm, will ink a sale-leaseback deal for HSBC’s headquarters building. The deal is valued at $1.33 billion and is expected to close next week.

As GlobeSt.com reported in September, the 1.1-million-square-foot HSBC Tower was attracting global investors with at least two major players bidding on the property. The two contenders were NPS, which offered $1.25 billion for the property according to reports, and a Malaysian group.

The Canary Wharf class A office tower rises 42 stories and is located at 8 Canada Sq. HSBC has occupied the property since 2002, and has considered London its headquarters since the 1990s. CB Richard Ellis represents HSBC in London.

This is the second sale-leaseback deal HSBC has completed on the property. As GlobeSt.com reported in 2007, HSBC completed a sale-leaseback deal with the Spanish company Metrovacesa SA, selling the property for $2.2 billion. Once the market began to decline, the value of the property dipped and HSBC repurchased the property from Metrocacesa for significantly less than it sold the building for.

At the beginning of October, HSBC signed a sale-leaseback deal for its New York headquarters building at 452 Fifth Ave. The buyer for the 865,000-square-foot office tower was 452 Fifth Owners LLC, a special-purpose vehicle held equally by Property and Building Corporation Ltd. and Koor Industries Ltd. The two companies are controlled by Tel Aviv-based IDB Group.

The 29-story 452 Fifth was formerly the headquarters of Republic National Bank, and became the base of HSBC’s US operations when it acquired Republic for $10.3 billion in 1999. It’s adjoined to the landmarked One W. 39th St.