MIAMI, March 20, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Starwood
Capital Group ("Starwood Capital" or "the Firm"), a
leading global private investment firm focused on real estate,
today announced that a controlled affiliate has agreed
to acquire a 10.7% equity stake in ESR Group ("ESR" or "the
Company") in a structured transaction alongside ESR Co-Founders,
Stuart Gibson and Charles de Portes ("the co-Founders"). Mr.
Gibson will remain Co-Chief Executive Officer and an Executive
Director of the Company and Mr. Portes will remain a Non-Executive
Director of the Company. Pursuant to the acquisition, all of the
outstanding sums under the existing margin loan facility of the
holding vehicle of the co-Founders will be fully extinguished.
ESR Group is APAC's largest real asset manager. With
approximately $156 billion in total
assets under management focused on the new economy sectors of
logistics, data centres and alternatives, the Company has a fully
integrated development and investment management platform extending
across key APAC markets, including Australia, Japan, South
Korea, China, Southeast Asia and India.
Barry Sternlicht, Chairman and
CEO of Starwood Capital, commented: "ESR is the leading real
estate platform in Asia Pacific
with important market positions in logistics and data centres,
which are key growth areas for Starwood Capital. I have known
Stuart for many years and have always been impressed by the
business he, Charles and co-CEO Jeffrey
Shen have built. Having recently partnered with ESR in
Australia, we are very pleased to
expand and strengthen our relationship through this transaction. We
have full faith and confidence in the management team and look
forward to working with all stakeholders over the longer-term."
Stuart Gibson, Executive
Director, Group Co-Founder & Co-CEO, ESR Group, added:
"I have known Barry for nearly 20 years and I look forward to
partnering with Starwood Capital as an investor. We believe
Starwood Capital's support will allow ESR to continue to focus on
delivering for our customers, shareholders and capital
partners."
Jeffrey Perlman, Non-Executive
Chairman, ESR Group, commented: "We are very pleased to welcome
Starwood Capital as a key shareholder and partner of ESR Group.
Starwood Capital's scale, global track record in public and private
real estate and access to capital is highly complementary to the
Company's strategy. We believe this is a strong vote of confidence
in ESR and its prospects going forward."
About Starwood Capital Group
Starwood Capital Group is a private investment firm with a core
focus on global real estate. The Firm and its affiliates maintain
16 offices in seven countries around the world, and currently have
5,000+ employees. Since its inception in 1991, Starwood Capital
Group has raised over $75 billion of
capital, and currently has ~$115
billion of assets under management. Through a series of
comingled opportunity funds and Starwood Real Estate Income Trust,
Inc. (SREIT), a non-listed REIT, the Firm has invested in virtually
every category of real estate on a global basis, opportunistically
shifting asset classes, geographies and positions in the capital
stack as it perceives risk/reward dynamics to be evolving. Starwood
Capital also manages Starwood Property Trust (NYSE: STWD), the
largest commercial mortgage real estate investment trust in
the United States, which has
successfully deployed over $95
billion of capital since inception and manages a portfolio
of over $27 billion across debt and
equity investments. Over the past 32 years, Starwood Capital Group
and its affiliates have successfully executed an investment
strategy that involves building enterprises in both the private and
public markets. Additional information can be found at
www.starwoodcapital.com.
About ESR Group
ESR is APAC's largest real asset manager powered by the New
Economy and the third largest listed real estate investment manager
globally. With approximately US$150
billion in total assets under management (AUM)1,
our fully integrated development and investment management platform
extends across key APAC markets, including China, Japan,
South Korea, Australia, Singapore, India, New
Zealand and Southeast Asia,
representing over 95% of GDP in APAC, and also includes an
expanding presence in Europe and
the U.S. We provide a diverse range of real asset investment
solutions and New Economy real estate development opportunities
across our private funds business, which allow capital partners and
customers to capitalise on the most significant secular trends in
APAC. ESR is the largest sponsor and manager of REITs in APAC with
a total AUM of approximately US$45
billion. Our purpose – Space and Investment Solutions for a
Sustainable Future – drives us to manage sustainably and
impactfully and we consider the environment and the communities in
which we operate as key stakeholders of our business. Listed on the
Main Board of The Stock Exchange of Hong
Kong, ESR is a constituent of the FTSE Global Equity Index
Series (Large Cap), Hang Seng Composite Index and MSCI Hong Kong
Index. For more information on ESR, please visit
www.esr.com
Media Contacts
For Starwood Capital Group
Tom Johnson, Dan Scorpio or
Emma Prenn-Vasilakis, H/Advisors
Abernathy
tom.johnson@h-advisors.global, dan.scorpio@h-advisors.global or
emma.prenn-vasilakis@h-advisors.global
For ESR Group
Media Relations: Kathleen Goh,
Senior Director, Group Corporate Affairs (kathleen.goh@esr.com)
Investor Relations: Marilyn Tan,
Group Head, Investor Relations (marilyn.tan@esr.com)
________________________
1 As at 31 December
2023.
Logo -
https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1044107/4603853/Starwood_Capital_Logo.jpg
View original
content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/starwood-capital-enters-into-partnership-with-esr-group-co-founders-to-acquire-10-7-ownership-stake-302093821.html