EQT agrees to buy Exeter Property Group for US$1.9 billion

SWEDEN'S EQT, one of Europe's biggest private equity firms, has agreed to take over Exeter Property Group in a US$1.9 billion deal that gives it access to real estate assets across the US and Europe.

EQT will pay about US$800 million in new shares and the rest in cash for closely held Exeter, the Stockholm-based firm said on Tuesday.

Christian Sinding, EQT's chief executive, said that the transaction feeds into his firm's "strategy of building a globally-scaled real estate platform".

The agreement gives EQT control over a US-based property business with more than US$10 billion under management in an asset class that's become increasingly popular among institutional investors after years of ultra-low interest rates.

Exeter is majority-owned by Ward Fitzgerald as well as members of the US company's management.

EQT, which announced the takeover the same day it unveiled a 34 per cent increase in annual revenue, said that the cash portion of its payment for Exeter includes refinancing US$300 million in existing Exeter debt.

A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU

Tuesday, 12 pm

Property Insights

Get an exclusive analysis of real estate and property news in Singapore and beyond.

Sign Up

The deal "is expected to be accretive to EQT's earnings" this year, it said.

In its fourth-quarter report, EQT said its assets under management grew to 52.5 billion euros (S$84.5 billion) in 2020, 46 per cent more than a year earlier. BLOOMBERG