Logos Property Buys SG Warehouses in Southeast Asian Push

Ivanhoe Cambridge-backed warehouse developer Logos Property has completed its first acquisitions in southeast Asia by purchasing a pair of logistics facilities in Singapore together with local firm Yang Kee Logistics.

The developer, which already has projects in Australia and China, took an unspecified stake in the two properties as an initial investment under the Logos Southeast Asia Venture, after receiving a $110 million capital injection in the new platform from Ivanhoe Cambridge, a Canadian real estate investment firm.

At the same time that Logos announced this initial deal, the value of which was not disclosed, the company also officially opened its Singapore office. The Southeast Asian expansion follows a strategic investment in the Australian-based developer by Ivanhoe Cambridge and Macquarie in February of this year.

Australia, China, and Now Singapore for Logos

Logos has chosen to work together on this first southeast Asian deal with Yangkee, a logistics service provider with operations in Cambodia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand, as well in mainland China and Hong Kong.

In a statement Logos said that the acquisition is part of a strategic partnership with Yang Kee to develop modern logistics facilities in the city. The company named regional real estate investment veteran and former Goodman executive Stephen Hawkins as its Managing Director of Logos southeast Asia in March of this year.

This first acquisition in the region could also be a harbinger of further expansion in Logos global holdings, and more fund-raising for the rapidly growing platform.

“We are looking at development projects in Singapore and further investments throughout the region,” said Logos managing ­directors John Marsh and Trent Iliffe in the statement.

In March, Marsh told the Australian media that Logos planned to build a total portfolio of as much as $3.7 billion in logistics space within the next three years.

Logistics Developers Continue to Attract Investment

Logos, which was formed in Sydney in 2010, received early financial support from Singaporean sovereign wealth fund GIC – also a major backer of market leader Global Logistics Properties – and Macquarie Capital first invested in 2014.

And the company is not alone among logistics developers in the region in getting the love from global investors. Earlier this year, Shanghai-based e-Shang and Singapore’s Redwood Group merged in a non-cash deal to form one of the region’s largest logistics real estate platforms, in the hopes of an IPO later this year that could surpass $2 billion in value. That merger was followed by Dutch pension fund PGGM committing another $160 million to Redwood’s platform at the end of January.

Last year Macquarie assisted Logos in forming a $400 million China joint venture with Ivanhoe, a unit of Canada’s Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, and CBRE Global Investment Partners.

Macquarie Capital acted as exclusive financial adviser for this latest acquistion, and as sole lead manager and arranger for the capital raising.