ESR successfully lists ESR Kendall Square REIT on Korea Exchange

December 23, 2020 - 02:06
ESR successfully lists ESR Kendall Square REIT on Korea Exchange

  • Korea's first logistics REIT raised approximatelyUS$650 million through pre-IPO investments and global offering
  • Overwhelming response from both international anddomestic investors demonstrates strong market appetite for public REITs withprime quality logistics assets and stable returns
  • Further cements ESR Kendall Square as the dominantlogistics real estate platform in Korea with over US$7.2 billion of AUM
  • ESR further scales its integrated platform of publicand private vehicles to accelerate long-term growth


SEOUL/HONG KONG - Media OutReach - 23 December 2020 - ESR Cayman Limited ("ESR" or the "Company", together with itssubsidiaries as the "Group"; SEHK Stock Code: 1821), the largest APAC focusedlogistics real estate platform, today announced the successful listing of ESRKendall Square REIT Co., Ltd. ("ESR Kendall Square REIT"; KRX Stock Code: 365550) on the KRX KOSPI Market of the Korea Exchange, marking the firstpublicly listed institutional quality logistics asset focused real estateinvestment trust ("REIT") in Korea. With the completionof the global offering, ESR Kendall Square REIT has a portfolio with totalasset value of approximately US$1.3 billion and a market capitalisation ofapproximately US$650 million.

 

ESR Kendall Square REIT is sponsored by ESR Kendall Square, a subsidiaryof ESR, with prime logistics facilities in Korea as its underlying assets. Theinitial portfolio consists of 11 modern, institutional-grade logisticsfacilities mainly located in the Greater Seoul Metropolitan Area, with a totalGFA of 684,095 sqm. Ten of these were recently acquired, through a combinationof direct asset purchases and through the purchase of approximately 99% equityinterest in four real estate funds that own certain of the properties, fromfunds managed by ESR Kendall Square. The acquisition of the 11thproperty, the Anseong Logistics Park, is expected to be completed by June 2021.

 

Thomas Nam, CEO of ESR Kendall Square, said, "This is a very excitingtime and meaningful milestone for ESR Kendall Square. The successful listing ofESR Kendall Square REIT is a testament to the strong portfolios of quality assets,investors and tenants that our team has built through the years. With therobust growth of e-commerce driven by a confluence of factors including thepandemic, public investors have shown a growing appetite for quality coreassets that can generate stable, long-term returns. Backed by our team'sunrivalled capability and track record in developing and managing institutional-gradeproperties, we are well positioned to capitalise on the continued growth ofe-commerce in order to deliver solid returns and value to our investors and stakeholders."

 

Leveraging its relationship with the Group, ESR Kendall Square REIT isexpected to have opportunities to acquire additional properties managed by ESR KendallSquare and its affiliates. It plans to continuously increase the value of itsinvestments by acquiring assets in key areas, taking into account the locations,tenants and expected returns.

 

Jeffrey Shen and Stuart Gibson, Co-founders and Co-CEOs of ESR, said, "Weare very proud of what ESR has achieved in the Korean market. As one of theworld's biggest e-commerce markets, Korea has continuously delivered ESR a strongperformance and set great standards for the industry under the leadership ofThomas Nam and Jihun Kang. Thanks to the long-term support of our capitalpartners and customers, as well as dedication of our team, ESR has built aproven track record of robust growth across our public and private vehicles. Welook forward to carrying this momentum into 2021 as we continue to strengthenour market presence and leadership position in Korea and the APAC region."

 

ESR has built a strong portfolio of best-in-class logistics propertiesacross Korea, and now leads the market on multiple fronts with its exceptionalcapability and track record in development as well as funds and asset management.It is the leading owner of logistics stock[1] in the country with the largest development pipeline in the SeoulMetropolitan Area. As of 30 September 2020, the total AUM and GFA of ESR's Koreabusiness had reached approximately US$7.2 billion and approximately 3.3 millionsqm, respectively.

 

Citigroup GlobalMarkets Korea Securities Limited, Morgan Stanley & Co. International Plc,Seoul Branch and Korea Investment & Securities Co., Ltd. are the jointglobal coordinators and underwriters. Other co-managers and underwriters takingpart in this global offering include NH Investment & Securities Co., Ltd.,KB Securities Co., Ltd. and Samsung Securities Co., Ltd.



[1]By GFA from 2019to 2020


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