HONG KONG/SYDNEY (Reuters) -Logistics company GLP is considering a Hong Kong listing that could happen as early as next year, eight years after the Singapore-incorporated firm was taken private by an investor group, three sources with direct knowledge of the matter said.
GLP has held early stage discussions with a small number of financial advisers about the relisting plan, said two of the sources and a fourth person with knowledge of the matter.
The timing of the listing and GLP’s potential valuation in the offering are too early to be determined and would depend on market conditions, the two sources said.
The firm’s total net asset value has reached about $20 billion, said one of the two sources and the third source.
GLP, which according to its website develops and operates logistics real estate, data centres, renewable energy and related technologies, with a presence in 17 countries including Brazil, China, Europe, India, Japan, the U.S. and Vietnam, declined to comment.
The sources did not want to be identified as the information was confidential.
GLP’s plan to relist is partly fuelled by China’s economic stimulus and property support measures released over the past few months that have led to an improvement in the country’s stock markets, the fourth source said.
GLP is a major commercial and logistics property manager and investor sentiment towards China’s property sector would be a key factor in the company’s relisting considerations, two of the sources said.
The relisting in Hong Kong, if finalised, will be a major boost for the financial hub which has seen total listing value and number of deals decline in recent years.
Companies have raised $10.1 billion in Hong Kong listings this year, an increase over last year because of Midea’s $4 billion listing in September, but well down on the $51.6 billion raised in 2020, according to Dealogic data.
CORE EARNINGS
GLP said in October its underlying core earnings for the first half of this year reached $2 billion.
Its data centre service income rose 54% in the first half of the year compared to the year-ago period to $86 million, driven by the expansion of the business in China, GLP said in a statement at the time.
In 2017, a Chinese private equity consortium, backed by GLP’s CEO Ming Mei, won a bid to acquire the then Singapore-listed firm for S$16 billion ($11.94 billion).
The consortium included private equity firms Hopu Investment Management and Hillhouse Investment, real estate developer Vanke Group and the investment arm of Bank of China.
In October, GLP sold the international business of its asset management arm, GLP Capital Partners (WA:), to Ares Management (NYSE:) Corp for $3.7 billion paid with about $1.8 billion in cash and the rest in shares.
The fund management business had $126 billion assets under management with $12.5 billion of equity dry powder by end-June, according to GLP’s half-year report.
The arm raised around $3 billion of new capital globally by early October, including $2 billion of capital in China.
State-backed Vanke has been trying to sell its 21% stake in GLP as it battles losses and debt stress amid China’s property market slowdown, said two of the sources, adding a deal is not imminent.
Vanke declined to comment.
($1 = 1.3395 Singapore dollars)
