SINGAPORE/HONG KONG (Reuters) - A leading Chinese private equity consortium backed by senior executives from Global Logistic Properties (GLP) (GLPL.SI) won a bid to acquire GLP for S$16 billion ($11.6 billion), marking Asia's largest private equity buyout in a buoyant sector.
GLP, which is Asia's biggest warehouse operator and boasts a $41 billion portfolio of assets spread across China, Japan, Brazil and the United States, is benefiting from rising demand logistics facilities driven by a boom in e-commerce from clients such as Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) and JD.com Inc (JD.O).
The winning bid of China's Hopu Investment Management, Hillhouse Capital Group, real estate developer Vanke Group (000002.SZ) (2202.HK) and the financial service investment arm of Bank of China was backed by GLP CEO Ming Mei, which trumped an offer by a Warburg Pincus-led consortium - the only other short-listed bidder.
The group is offering S$3.38 in cash per share, representing an 81 percent premium over its 12-month volume weighted average price and a 25 percent premium over its last full trading day before the announcement.
Surprisingly, the acquisition is not conditional on getting antitrust approvals or a green light from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), among others, at a time when regulators are vetting takeovers more closely.
Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC [GIC.UL], which owns 37 percent of GLP and is its biggest shareholder, is supporting the transaction but is free to accept an unmatched superior offer.
More at Chinese buyout group wins $11.6 billion bid to buy GLP
GLP, which is Asia's biggest warehouse operator and boasts a $41 billion portfolio of assets spread across China, Japan, Brazil and the United States, is benefiting from rising demand logistics facilities driven by a boom in e-commerce from clients such as Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) and JD.com Inc (JD.O).
The winning bid of China's Hopu Investment Management, Hillhouse Capital Group, real estate developer Vanke Group (000002.SZ) (2202.HK) and the financial service investment arm of Bank of China was backed by GLP CEO Ming Mei, which trumped an offer by a Warburg Pincus-led consortium - the only other short-listed bidder.
The group is offering S$3.38 in cash per share, representing an 81 percent premium over its 12-month volume weighted average price and a 25 percent premium over its last full trading day before the announcement.
Surprisingly, the acquisition is not conditional on getting antitrust approvals or a green light from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), among others, at a time when regulators are vetting takeovers more closely.
Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC [GIC.UL], which owns 37 percent of GLP and is its biggest shareholder, is supporting the transaction but is free to accept an unmatched superior offer.
More at Chinese buyout group wins $11.6 billion bid to buy GLP
