GLP appoints Evercore Asia as new independent financial adviser

Singapore

GLOBAL Logistic Properties Limited (GLP) said on Wednesday that it has appointed Evercore Asia (Singapore) as the new independent financial adviser to replace ANZ.

This follows a clarification from the Securities Industry Council of Singapore (SIC) on whether ANZ can be considered independent.

ANZ was appointed last month to advise GLP's independent directors in making a final recommendation to shareholders over the recent S$3.38 per share offer for the company.

The offeror, Nesta Investment Holdings, is owned by Hopu, Hillhouse Capital, SMG, Bank of China Group Investment and Vanke. The proposed acquisition, which valued GLP at about S$16 billion, will be effected by way of a scheme of arrangement.

Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC, which is GLP's single-largest shareholder with a 36.84 per cent stake, has given an undertaking to support the bid.

ANZ's earlier position conveyed to GLP was that although an ANZ entity outside of Singapore had a financial connection - unrelated to the scheme - with a member of the offeror's consortium, it was of the view that such a financial connection did not create a conflict of interest that would compromise its independence.

But upon clarification from the SIC on ANZ's position, the SIC indicated that it did not consider the corporate advisory division of ANZ to be independent due to the above-mentioned financial connection.

Details of the scheme including the independent directors' final recommendation and the advice by the financial adviser will be included in the scheme document, which is expected to be rolled out to shareholders in due course.