Global Logistic Properties to seek offers by next month

Bloomberg

Global Logistic Properties Ltd. has begun formally reaching out to potential bidders for the $7.8 billion industrial property owner, people with knowledge of the matter said.
The Singapore-based company sent out an information letter to targeted bidders at the end of last month and has asked for first-round offers by early February, according to the people. GLP attracted interest from suitors after announcing a strategic review in December, one of the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private.
A deal for GLP could rank as one of the biggest-ever buyouts in Asia Pacific and would add to the $215 billion of property and property-related deals involving firms in the region in the last 12 months, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The company has been involved in $1.3 billion of acquisitions in the past year, the data show. “I wouldn’t be surprised if they attract interest — they have a very strong network of assets,” said David Smith, the Singapore-based head of corporate governance at Aberdeen Asset Management Asia Ltd., which owns GLP shares. “The business has ‎great potential driven by demand for modern logistics assets. They’ve been executing well.”
Shares of GLP rose as much as 9.4 percent Thursday in Singapore, hitting the highest intraday level since July 2015, before trading was halted.
The company said last month it appointed JPMorgan Chase & Co. to help conduct a strategic review of options to improve shareholder value, following a request from its biggest investor, Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC Pte. GLP said at the time it formed a special committee of four independent directors to oversee the review.
GLP is in preliminary discussions with various parties about a possible sale of the company as one of the options under the strategic review, it said in a Singapore exchange filing Thursday. The firm hasn’t signed any definitive agreements, and there’s no certainty a transaction will result, according to filing. GLP requested a lift of the trading halt, effective Friday.
The company owns and operates a $40 billion global real estate portfolio of 53 million square meters (573 million square feet), according to a presentation to analysts this week. GLP has $12.8 billion of assets in China and $10.5 billion in Japan, as well as properties in the U.S. and Brazil. It is considering selective expansion into new markets including Europe and the U.K., the presentation shows.