Macquarie Asset Management has partnered with subsidiaries of SGX-listed Boustead Singapore to create a US$3.5bn (€3.2bn) pan-Asian logistics real estate development, investment and fund management platform.
Macquarie has teamed up with Unified Industrial (UI) and Boustead Projects Limited (BPL) to create UIB which will manage assets across Japan, China, Singapore and Vietnam.
James Kemp, head of real estate, Asia Pacific at Macquarie Asset Management and the chairman of UIB, told IPE Real: “BSl [or affiliate] will hold a 24% stake, while fund vehicles managed by Macquarie will hold a majority stake in UI post-transaction.”
The original UI founders - Josh Olsan, the CEO and Ross Antoci also remain as minority shareholders in UIB.
“UIB will be positioned to manage various forms of capital based on underlying investor preferences, this is expected to include both develop-to-core and develop-to-sell mandates plus more open-ended core / core-plus mandates.”
The creation of UIB continued the growth of UI following the investment by Macquarie Asset Management’s flagship real estate opportunistic fund series Macquarie Real Estate Partners, in 2021.
“Today’s announcement reflects a shared ambition to create a leading logistics and industrial real estate franchise in Asia, leveraging the established brands of UI and BPL in their respective markets,” said Olsan.
Wong Yu Wei, deputy chairman of BPL, said: “Boustead Projects has been on the lookout for suitable opportunities to scale up our real estate and fund management business. The creation of UIB allows us to combine forces as partners and ramp up the business, integrating our respective capabilities to further expand across key Asian markets.”
To effect the transaction, UI will acquire the economic interest in BPL’s real estate business for a stake in UIB.
The total transaction value was not disclosed.
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