GLP is counting on some of its recently acquired Hillwood assets to kickstart the new fund
Singapore-listed Global Logistic Properties has established a $1.5 billion fund aimed at buying US logistic assets over the next three years.
GLP, which is majority owned by Singaporean sovereign-wealth fund GIC, said its GLP US Income Partners III has already received equity commitments of $620 million, and six leading global institutional investors from Asia, US and the Middle East have committed for a combined stake of approximately 90 percent in the investment vehicle, according to a company statement.
GLP is the asset manager for the fund and will retain a stake of around 10 percent post-syndication, it added.
Hillwood Assets Added to New Fund
CEO Ming Z Mei is back in the news with GLP’s new $1.5B fund
The Singapore-based warehouse developer will seed GLP US Income Partners III with an initial $700 million in assets from a portfolio of assets it agreed to acquire from San Francisco’s Hillwood Development in September. The company says it has identified a further $400m of assets which could be acquired in phases, and has received the go-ahead from investors to identify another $400 million in potential acquisitions.
“Our US fund management platform continues to perform strongly. Capital raising for our third US fund exceeded our expectations,, GLP CEO Ming Mei commented in a statement. “We saw strong support from new and existing institutional investors, which is a testament to our strong track record as an asset manager and strong investor demand for high-quality US logistics real estate.”
GLP, which manages logistics assets valued at close to $40 billion in the US, China, Japan, and Brazil, has grown into one of the world’s biggest logistics companies.
After getting its start with the acquisition of the former Prologis’ assets in China and Japan, the company has spread is platform globally, including the development of platforms in North America and Brazil. In 2014, GLP made its biggest investment in the US by paying $8.1 billion to Blackstone Group to acquire the IndCor warehouse portfolio.
GLP now owns and operates a global platform of 52 million square metres, and has some 4,000 customers including ecommerce providers, manufacturers, retailers and third-party logistics companies.
US Fund Could Make GLP More of a Takeover Target
The newly announced fund could add to GLP’s appeal as a takeover target, particularly after the $6 billion company revealed this month that it had retained JP Morgan to conduct a “strategic review of its business.”
The shed builder’s hook-up with the investment bank came after reports circulated in November that Chinese sovereign wealth fund China Investment Corporation (CIC) was offering to acquire GLP. The mainland sovereign fund is already an investor in GLP’s China operation, and also ranks as the PRC’s biggest buyer of overseas real estate. With the yuan rapidly losing value against a rampaging US dollar GLP’s ability to source and operate a US logistics platform should make the Singaporean firm an even more attractive target for mainland investors.
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