Potential $9B deal for Singapore’s GLP puts 24 Greater NY properties into spotlight

As bidders line up to buy a Singaporean real estate giant valued at $9 billion, the future of two dozen warehouse properties in the greater New York area is also on the line.

On Tuesday, Reuters reported that the the Blackstone Group and an investor group led by private equity firm Warburg Pincus are among the finalists bidding for Global Logistic Properties.

GLP, which is backed by Singapore’s Sovereign Wealth Fund GIC, owns more than 900 properties around the world — mostly warehouses. That list includes 23 properties in northern New Jersey, part of the IndCor Properties portfolio that GIC bought from Blackstone [TRDataCustom] in February 2015 for $8.1 billion.

As of November 2015 the 23 properties were valued at around $610 million, according to Real Capital Analytics data. The portfolio includes three distribution centers in Jersey City and properties in Englewood, Fairfield, Cranbury and other towns.

GLP also owns a 193,160-square-foot warehouse at 75 Steamboat Boulevard in Great Neck, Long Island.

Reuters reported that GLP, which has a market value of $9.2 billion, has looked at non-binding acquisition proposals and picked a small number of bidders to do due diligence on the company. Apart from the groups led by Warburg Pincus and Blackstone, a third group including Chinese investment firms Hopu and Hillhouse Capital and current GLP executives was also selected.

Institutional investors have been buying up more warehouses in recent years, betting the growth in e-commerce (and the resulting need for shipping and storage space) will increase the value of properties. In September, Blackstone bought a logistics portfolio from Irvine Realty for $1.5 billion.