Two Groups Submit Bids for Singapore's Global Logistic Properties
U.S. private-equity giants Blackstone Group LP and Warburg Pincus LLC are facing off with Chinese investment funds Hillhouse Capital Group and Hopu Investment in a battle to control one of the world's biggest warehousing companies.
The two groups of funds have both submitted bids for Singapore's Global Logistic Properties Ltd., people familiar with the process said Friday, kicking off the final stage of a process that started early this year when GLP's biggest shareholder, Singapore sovereign-wealth fund GIC Pte Ltd., asked for a strategic review of the company's options. The bids were due by June 30.
The Hillhouse-Hopu consortium also includes GLP's chief executive Ming Mei and non-executive director of GLP Fang Fenglei. GLP has said that the two directors have recused themselves from all board decisions relating to the bids.
GLP, which is listed on the Singapore stock exchange and currently has a market capitalization of nearly US$10 billion, is seen as a prize in the fast-growing business of managing shipping and warehousing of goods. GLP is the biggest operator of warehouses in China, Japan and Brazil, and the second largest in the U.S. after Prologis Inc. It currently manages logistics assets valued at close to $40 billion.
In recent years, GLP has expanded through acquisitions such as the US$8.1 billion purchase, with GIC, of U.S. industrial property owner IndCor from Blackstone. Its China portion is valued at about $12.8 billion, including properties in Beijing and Shanghai. GLP funds its purchases with a mix of its own money and capital raised from outside investors.
GIC, which owns 37% of GLP, is one of the world's biggest sovereign funds and has more than one-third of its investments in the U.S. According to the Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute, GIC overseas about US$344 billion in assets, making it the world's eighth-largest sovereign fund.
Write to P.R. Venkat at Venkat.PR@wsj.com
U.S. private-equity giants Blackstone Group LP and Warburg Pincus LLC are facing off with Chinese investment funds Hillhouse Capital Group and Hopu Investment in a battle to control one of the world's biggest warehousing companies.
The two groups of funds have both submitted bids for Singapore's Global Logistic Properties Ltd., people familiar with the process said Friday, kicking off the final stage of a process that started early this year when GLP's biggest shareholder, Singapore sovereign-wealth fund GIC Pte Ltd., asked for a strategic review of the company's options. The bids were due by June 30.
The Hillhouse-Hopu consortium also includes GLP's chief executive Ming Mei and non-executive director of GLP Fang Fenglei. GLP has said that the two directors have recused themselves from all board decisions relating to the bids.
GLP, which is listed on the Singapore stock exchange and currently has a market capitalization of nearly US$10 billion, is seen as a prize in the fast-growing business of managing shipping and warehousing of goods. GLP is the biggest operator of warehouses in China, Japan and Brazil, and the second largest in the U.S. after Prologis Inc. It currently manages logistics assets valued at close to $40 billion.
In recent years, GLP has expanded through acquisitions such as the US$8.1 billion purchase, with GIC, of U.S. industrial property owner IndCor from Blackstone. Its China portion is valued at about $12.8 billion, including properties in Beijing and Shanghai. GLP funds its purchases with a mix of its own money and capital raised from outside investors.
GIC, which owns 37% of GLP, is one of the world's biggest sovereign funds and has more than one-third of its investments in the U.S. According to the Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute, GIC overseas about US$344 billion in assets, making it the world's eighth-largest sovereign fund.
Write to P.R. Venkat at Venkat.PR@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 30, 2017 07:58 ET (11:58 GMT)