Major global corporations execute significant move on pivotal $7.1 billion ESR off-market acquisition agreement
In a significant move, a consortium led by Starwood Capital Group, Sixth Street, SSW Partners, QIA, Warburg Pincus, and ESR's founders has made an offer to take Hong Kong-listed ESR Group private. The deal, valued at $7.1 billion, has attracted the attention of numerous international law firms.
Latham & Watkins is at the forefront, advising the consortium on the deal. A team led by partner Amy Beckingham and Simon Cooke is spearheading the effort, with Andrew Bishop handling financing matters, Christopher D Frey managing compliance, and Helen Lethaby providing tax advice. Stephanie Chiu is advising on employment issues, while Matthew O'Callaghan and associate Lu Feng are handling regulatory matters. Christine Laciak and Aimen Mir are providing expertise on U.S. law matters, and Clare Scott is bringing her investment funds expertise to the table. Max Hauser and Jana Dammann are managing antitrust matters, and Alastair Mordaunt, counsel Laurent Bougard, and associate Ziqi Zhou are providing foreign investment and antitrust advice.
Kirkland & Ellis is also lending its expertise to the consortium. Joey Chau, Dan Borg, Lloyd Robertson-Jones, Annette Baillie, James Collins, Brian Ho, Andrew McAlpine, Nelson Ni, Tian Sun, Estelle Lu, Michelle Park, Art Ward, Paul Sampson, Matthew Jobson, Jonathan Schechter, Christopher Hartmann, Andrew Shiner, Sky Kim, and Satyen Dhana are part of the team advising the consortium. Kendall Burnett and Sarah Gadd are advising on employment issues, and Simon Hawkins and Farhana Sharmeen are managing financial regulation.
A Paul, Weiss team is advising SSW Partners, with corporate partners Judie Ng Shortell and Bosco Yiu leading the team. The Freshfields team is advising ESR Group on the transaction, with partners Edward Freeman, Grace Huang, and Danny Li at the helm, among others.
Additional equity commitments from institutional investors, including Alpha Wave Global and a leading Asia public pension investor, have been secured for the transaction. Notably, the Bank of China International is also involved, holding a 10% stake in the issued shares alongside Starwood Capital Group, Sixth Street, and SSW Partners.
ESR shares have fallen in recent years amid China's property market slump. The stock is down more than 60 percent from a 2021 peak. The Hang Seng benchmark has also seen a significant drop in the same period, although this fact is not repeated here for the sake of brevity.
The consortium currently holds 39.91 percent of the company's issued shares, making this a substantial move towards a private takeover of the Hong Kong-listed ESR Group. The transaction is expected to be a significant milestone in the real estate industry, with the assistance of these prominent law firms ensuring a smooth and efficient process.
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