GIC saw off competition from some of the world's biggest investors to acquire logistics specialist P3 in a €2.4 bn deal announced on Monday.
The Singapore-based sovereign wealth fund inked Europe's largest deal this year with the acquisition of the pan-European logistics firm from Texas Pacific Group (TPG) Real Estate and its Canadian partner Ivanhoé Cambridge.
Earlier this year, P3's north American owners briefed Eastdil Secured to approach a select group of institutional parties and sovereign wealth funds about the potential sale, comprising investors chiefly from North America and Asia-Pacific. According to UK property media reports, GIC faced competition to close the deal from both Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Australia’s Macquarie.
This did not include established players in the sector such as Blackstone, Brookfield, Gazeley, Segro or Prologis, according to Estates Gazette, as the vendors thought they would achieve a better price from a buyer who valued the deal's European management platform as well as P3's assets.
Eastdil subsequently advised P3 on closing a €1.4 bn long-term financing arrangement with a group of international financial institutions, including Morgan Stanley, in preparation for the sale.
Rapid growth
The transaction, which is subject to regulatory approval, will see the transfer of some 163 assets covering 3.3 million m2 located in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia and Spain.
While the terms of the deal were first rumoured in September of this year, P3’s north American investors had indicated when acquiring the business in 2013 that they were looking at 'a three-to-five year window,' P3 CEO Ian Worboys told PropertyEU. 'This deal is right on the nail,' he said.
TPG and Ivanhoé bought the company in 2013 following a failed IPO from its previous owner, Bahrain-based Arcapita. At the time of acquisition, P3 had around only €760 mln of assets, including 48 warehouses comprising some 1.46 million m2 of space plus a land bank allowing for the development of around 590,000 m2 of sheds across Europe.
P3 has more than doubled its assets in the past three years. Lee Kok Sun, CIO at GIC Real Estate said that GIC would retain P3’s management team and continue to build further sites. Eleven projects are currently under construction and P3 owns 1.4 million m2 of development land.
