SEOUL: In a battle between South Korea's richest industrial giants, Hyundai outbid Samsung to grab Thursday a $10 billion plot of land in Seoul's upscale Gangnam district, which media said was the country's biggest ever property deal.
The 79,345 square metre (19.6 acre) plot belonged to the state-run Korea Electric Power Corp (KEPCO) and was initially valued at around 3.3 trillion won ($3.0 billion).
In the end, Hyundai -- the country's top automaker -- went way beyond that, bidding 10.5 trillion won, or around $126,000 per square metre, KEPCO said in a statement.
The size of the Samsung bid was not disclosed.
Hyundai made its bid through a consortium with two of its affiliates -- Kia Motors and Hyundai Mobis -- and intends to build its global headquarters on the site, along with an auto theme park.
Hyundai and Samsung Electronics -- the world's biggest smartphone maker -- were the sole eligible bidders for the plot, which was extremely rare in terms of its size and prime location.
The glitzy Gangnam district became famous worldwide with the success of the mega-hit "Gangnam Style" by South Korean rapper Psy.
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