Warburg Pincus goes big on S'pore logistics firms

It buys 80% of Cambridge Industrial Trust manager and is said to be keen on GLP; it's also leading buyout of ARA

Published Wed, Jan 18, 2017 · 09:50 PM

Singapore

PRIVATE equity firm Warburg Pincus is ramping up to become a major logistics player. On Wednesday, its subsidiary announced an acquisition of 80 per cent of the manager of Cambridge Industrial Trust (CIT) for an undisclosed sum.

This follows news that Warburg is leading a buyout of ARA Asset Management, which manages a stable of real estate investment trusts (Reits) and private real estate funds, including ones that are invested in the logistics and industrial sector.

There is also ongoing speculation that Warburg is competing with Blackstone Group and a separate Chinese group to take over logistics juggernaut Global Logistic Properties (GLP).

In the latest deal, the Warburg subsidiary is called e-Shang Infinity Cayman, which itself is a unit of e-Shang Redwood (ESR), a pan-Asian logistics real estate developer with more than US$5 billion of assets under m…