Singaporean listed real estate company Keppel Corporation has agreed a corporate transaction that will see it own Aermont Capital Management, the London-based private equity real estate firm, in 2028.
Under terms of the deal, the Asian company plans to acquire 50% of the firm in H1 2024 creating a JV. It will then buy the other 50% in H1 2028.
Payment in the two-step process is likely to be made in the form of cash and shares in Keppel.
Senior management at Aermont is expected to remain in place.
Keppel said it is transitioning from being an industrial group to a global asset manager and operator of multi-assets.
Aermont will gain access to the Asian firm's technical and operating expertise, it said, to better capitalise on a number of technology-driven trends and opening the door to new fund strategies such as European data centres.
Aermont's chairman, Leon Bressler, said the company looked forward to a close partnership.
'Keppel offers something specific and compelling to our franchise; its technical and operating expertise are well-aligned to key megatrends such as energy transition, digital transformation and urbanisation.'
'For Aermont, access to that expertise will help us better capitalise on a number of technology-driven opportunities. It will also open the door to new fund strategies, enabling us to eventually offer more to our LPs and to broaden the professional opportunty to our team.'
He added Aermont and Keppel shared cultures rooted in operational expertise, value creation, and an LP-first approach.
'Teaming up with Keppel today therefore makes us stronger and better positioned, which will be to the benefit of all Aermont stakeholders'.
Loh Chin Hua, CEO of Keppel, called Aermont 'established' and a 'highly successful management platform in Europe', naming both Bressler and managing partner, Paul Golding, pointing out the firm had attracted some of the world's most prominent LPs.
He said Aermont's opportunistic approach would complement Keppel's core and value added investment strategy.
To date, Aermont has raised a succession of five pan-European investment funds. Aggregate commitments to the funds and related vehicles total around €13 bn.
Investors include some of the most prominent sovereign wealth funds, public and private pension plans and other institutions, from Europe, the US, Asia and the Middle East.
The funds are mandated to invest in real estate and real estate related opportunities in Europe, under direct asset, corporate and credit situations.
REPE firms
Aermont, which was previously known as Perella Weinberg Partners, was founded by former Unibail chief Leon Bressler in 2006.
Several other leading European private equity real estate platforms have transitioned ownership structure to include new outside shareholders such as Tristan Capital, Benson Elliot (now PineBridge Benson Elliot), and Europa Capital.
