Baker McKenzie has advised pension fund manager APG Asset Management ("APG") on its agreement with ESR Cayman Limited ("ESR", SEHK Stock Code: 1821) and another global institutional investor, on the formation of ESR's latest logistics development platform in China (the "ESR China Development Platform"). The ESR China Development Platform has an initial equity commitment of USD 1 billion, and focuses on developing and owning modern, institutional-grade logistics facilities in major logistics hubs across China with a focus on Tier 1 and Tier 1.5 cities.
The transaction is subject to relevant regulatory approval.
The Baker McKenzie team was led by Jason Ng, partner and co-chair of Baker McKenzie's Global Funds Group, together with Hong Kong-based fund formation specialist, Edwin Wong. They were assisted by a team of lawyers including Jacquelynne Baey and Da Wang. Partner Stephen Crosswell and associate Donald Pan also provided competition law support.
Commenting on the deal, Jason Ng said: "We could not be more thrilled to be able to assist our long-standing client APG on another important transaction. We look forward to continuing to support our client as they expand their investment portfolio in Asia."
Baker McKenzie is a market-leading firm for legal services relating to logistics real estate investments and projects. The team has substantial experience in advising investors, developers, operators and end users on fund investment screening, acquiring, financing, leasing, planning, developing and operating industrial and warehouse facilities worldwide. The Firm has been involved in many significant logistics real estate transactions, including SF REIT's global offering and Hong Kong listing; APG's and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board's USD 1 billion joint venture platform with ESR to develop logistics assets in South Korea; and ALDI's sale and leaseback of four logistics and warehouse facilities in Australia, amongst other logistics deals that we have advised on.