Singapore's Sovereign Wealth Fund Acquires €950 Million Logistics Real Estate In Europe

GIC, Singapore's sovereign wealth fund, has announced the acquisition of a Pan-European logistics real estate portfolio from Apollo Global Management, a private-equity firm, to the tune of €950 million. This is one of the largest investments made in the European real estate segment this year and shows the interest of GIC to consolidate its presence in the ever-expanding European logistics market. 

The acquisition will be via GIC's P3 Logistic Parks, its fully owned logistics platform, which the wealth fund looks to push for dominion in the European logistics property space. Apollo's portfolio, termed "Maximus," is comprised of 28 logistics assets that are spread across core logistics hubs in Austria, Belgium, Germany, Poland, the Netherlands and Slovakia. 

The Maximus portfolio covers more than 1 million square meters of industrial space, which will now be controlled by P3 in its attempt to improve its market standing in Europe. GIC bought P3 in 2016 for €2.4 billion to diversify its income-producing portfolio and increase its real estate scope within the continent. 

"The portfolio's well-diversified tenant base includes companies in the automotive, e-mobility, distribution, e-commerce and last-mile logistics sectors, among others. The acquisition is expected to close during the first quarter of 2020, subject to customary closing conditions and any requisite regulatory approvals," said GIC in its statement. 

The European logistics real estate market is regularly witnessing high-value deals go through. For example, Dutch logistics service provider Vos Logistics acquired SNEL Shared Logistics last week, getting control of a 65,000-square-meter warehouse in Woerden, the Netherlands. This acquisition is expected to help Vos Logistics offer logistics services across four major cities in the Netherlands — Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Den Hague and Utrecht.

"As a long-term value investor, logistics continues to be an attractive sector for GIC," said Lee Kok Sun, the chief investment officer at GIC Real Estate. "It is set to keep growing, supported by strong e-commerce growth, and we expect it to generate steady income streams in the long run."

Headquartered in Prague, Czech Republic, P3 owns and operates properties across 13 countries that have more than 5.3 million square meters in assets. 

Otis Spencer, the chief investment officer of P3, expressed confidence with integrating the Maximus portfolio within the company's platform, explaining that it will equip P3 with a team and resources that will help them successfully manage and add value to the assets and the end customer. 

"This [acquisition] reflects our multifaceted investment strategy to grow our market share in the Pan-European market through both development and acquisition. With the support of our owner, GIC, we are actively looking for further investment deals to strengthen our position as one of Europe's leading developers and managers of logistics properties," said Spencer.

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