Global Logistics Real Estate Specialist GLP Eyes US IPO

In a transformational move for the company, GLP Pte. Ltd., the global real estate logistics provider, and investment manager, reportedly is on track to go public in the U.S. 

A source familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal that the company is planning an IPO for its investment business, which recently merged with U.S.-based GLP Capital Partners LP, or GCP, as part of a reorganization. According to the source, GLP has hired underwriters and could file confidentially for an IPO soon with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. GCP's holdings will serve as the new group's U.S. portfolio.

GLP managed more than $120 billion in assets as of October, including around $61 billion worth of real estate assets and over 730 million feet of warehouse space worldwide. GCP founder and CEO and former GLP CIO Alan Yang will head the new company, while GLP co-founder and CEO Ming Mei will take on the role of chairman.

Watch: Is your warehouse strategy ready?

GLP, which is based in Singapore, first entered the U.S. market in 2015, when it acquired an $8.1 billion warehouse portfolio from IndCor Properties Inc. and bought an additional 400 U.S. warehouses for around $4.5 billion — making it the second-largest owner of industrial real estate in the entire country.

A few years later, GLP participated in what was, at the time, the largest private real estate transaction in history, selling a network of about 1,300 U.S. warehouses to Blackstone Inc. BX for a staggering $18.7 billion. Currently, GLP's real estate business manages more than $60 billion, but a source within the company said the firm's soon-to-be-public U.S. arm will manage another $100 billion. For comparison, rival Prologis PLD holds about $177 billion in real estate assets.

And according to commercial real estate firm JLL, GLP is getting into U.S. warehousing at a time when it's booming more than ever before — the company estimates that the U.S. alone might require an extra 1 billion square feet of warehouse space by 2025 as e-commerce shows no signs of slowing down.

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That space is also becoming increasingly valuable — JLL reported that demand for warehouse space is up 22% year-over-year, but vacancy rates are approaching all-time lows with almost 96% of existing industrial space already in use.

Given those trends, it should come as no surprise that GLP isn't the only company making moves in the warehouse space. Blackstone Inc., the other party in that historic $18.7 billion transactions, recently bought up more than 17 million square feet of warehouse space from Cabot Properties for $2.8 billion.

And just this week, Denmark-based global shipping giant Maersk AMKBY acquired Hong Kong's LF Logistics, which manages 29 million square feet of warehouses and fulfillment centers in 14 countries, for an enterprise value of $3.6 billion. It's the most recent step in the company's move toward e-commerce, and already others are starting to follow suit. Add GLP to the list.

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