GLP Pte. Ltd., a global real estate logistics provider and investment manager, is reportedly on track to go public in the United States, which would be a game-changer for the company.
According to a source familiar with the matter, the company is planning an IPO for its investment business, which recently merged with US-based GLP Capital Partners LP, or GCP, as part of a reorganization. According to the source, GLP has hired underwriters and may soon file for an IPO with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on a confidential basis. GCP’s holdings will serve as the new group’s portfolio in the United States.
As of October, GLP managed more than $120 billion in assets, including approximately $61 billion in real estate assets and over 730 million square feet of warehouse space globally. Alan Yang, co-founder, and CEO of GCP and former CIO of GLP will lead the new company, while Ming Mei, co-founder, and CEO of GLP, will serve as chairman.
GLP, based in Singapore, first entered the US market in 2015, when it purchased an $8.1 billion warehouse portfolio from IndCor Properties Inc. and an additional 400 warehouses for around $4.5 billion, making it the country’s second-largest owner of industrial real estate.
A few years later, GLP was involved in the largest private real estate transaction in history, selling a network of approximately 1,300 U.S. warehouses to Blackstone Inc. (NYSE: BX) for a staggering $18.7 billion. GLP’s real estate business currently manages more than $60 billion, but a company source said the firm’s soon-to-be-public U.S. arm will manage an additional $100 billion. In comparison, competitor Prologis (NYSE: PLD) has approximately $177 billion in real estate assets.
And, according to commercial real estate firm JLL, GLP is entering the U.S. warehousing market at a time when it is booming more than ever — the company estimates that the U.S. alone may require an additional 1 billion square feet of warehouse space by 2025, as e-commerce shows no signs of slowing.
