Update: Singapore's GLP to get bids from at least 3 prospective buyers next week

[HONG KONG] A Chinese consortium and two private equity firms are likely to submit bids next week to buy Singapore-listed warehouse operator Global Logistics Properties Ltd (GLP), people with direct knowledge of the matter said on Friday.

The interest in GLP, backed by Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC Pte Ltd, comes as the firm has built up a dominant market share in China, where an e-commerce boom is fuelling demand for modern warehousing and logistics.

The Chinese consortium is led by private equity firms Hopu Investment Management and Hillhouse Capital Group and has the support of GLP Chief Executive Ming Mei, the people said. The other bidders are US-based private equity firm Warburg Pincus LLC and Asian investment firm RRJ Capital, they said.

The bids are non-binding, said the people, who declined to be identified because the information was not public.

Two other people said financial group Ping An was also part of the consortium.

GLP halted trading of its shares which had fallen as much as 10.7 percent earlier on Friday after the Financial Times reported that prospective buyers - including RRJ and Blackstone Group LP - had decided not to bid.

GLP said it is in discussion with short-listed bidders, has received no binding proposals ahead of an end-June deadline, and has taken measures to alleviate potential conflicts of interest.

"All directors with a conflict or a potential conflict of interest have recused themselves from all decisions relating to the strategic review," GLP said in a statement to the stock exchange.

Its shares resumed trading at 12:30 pm (0430 GMT) and were down about 6.3 per cent in afternoon trade.

Warburg Pincus declined to comment. Ping An did not respond to a request for comment. Hopu and RRJ could not be reached.

Blackstone, which is on GLP's bidders shortlist, is still considering whether to bid, one of the people told Reuters.

Blackstone declined to comment.

Reuters reported last week that property developer China Vanke Co Ltd was also in talks to join the Chinese consortium.

GLP, with a market value of about US$10 billion, operates around US$40 billion worth of industrial properties worldwide. It earns two-thirds of revenue from China where it has 15.8 million square meters of leasable logistics facilities.

REUTERS

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