FUNDRAISING NEWS | December 02, 2024
Hong Kong-listed ESR Group is nearly set to go private in a deal that is being finalized by a consortium of investors, including Warburg Pincus, Starwood Capital Group, the Qatar Investment Authority, and ESR’s co-founders, Reuters reported November 28.
Unnamed sources told the news service that the transaction, valued at over $7B, will see Warburg rolling over its existing 14% share in the real estate fund manager after its privatization. The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong subsequently issued a halt in trading of ESR shares on November 29, pending an announcement on a potential takeover. The involved parties are yet to confirm terms of the deal which, per Reuters sources, are still subject to change.
Talk of ESR going private had been circulating since May, when it said that it received a “non-binding and conditional proposal” of a possible privatization from a consortium initially composed of Starwood, Sixth Street Partners, and SSW Partners. Members of the consortium were reportedly each interested in acquiring 15.7% of shares in the transaction, while Warburg and ESR’s founders would retain approximately 14% and 7.43% of shares, respectively.
