Global private investment firm Starwood Capital Group has said that a controlled affiliate has agreed to acquire a 10.7 per cent equity stake in ESR Group in a structured transaction alongside ESR Co-Founders, Stuart Gibson and Charles de Portes.
While Gibson will remain Co-Chief Executive Officer and an Executive Director of the company, Portes will remain a Non-Executive Director. Pursuant to the acquisition, all of the outstanding sums under the existing margin loan facility of the holding vehicle of the co-founders will be fully extinguished, the company said in a statement.
ESR Group is APAC’s largest real asset manager. With nearly USD 156 billion in total assets under management focused on the new economy sectors of logistics, data centres and alternatives, the company has a fully integrated development and investment management platform extending across key APAC markets, including Australia, Japan, South Korea, China, Southeast Asia and India.
“ESR is the leading real estate platform in Asia Pacific with important market positions in logistics and data centres, which are key growth areas for Starwood Capital,” Barry Sternlicht, Chairman and CEO of Starwood Capital, said.
He further stated that having recently partnered with ESR in Australia, the company is pleased to expand and strengthen its relationship through this transaction.
Commenting on the development, Gibson said, “We believe Starwood Capital‘s support will allow ESR to continue to focus on delivering for our customers, shareholders and capital partners.”
Jeffrey Perlman, Non-Executive Chairman, ESR Group, commented, “We are very pleased to welcome Starwood Capital as a key shareholder and partner of ESR Group. Starwood Capital’s scale, global track record in public and private real estate and access to capital is highly complementary to the company’s strategy. We believe this is a strong vote of confidence in ESR and its prospects going forward.”