US-based Ares Management has entered into a deal to acquire the international business of Singapore-based GLP Capital Partners (GCP), the investment and asset management arm of Asian warehouse giant GLP, for $3.7 billion, according to a company statement on Tuesday. The deal excludes its operations in Greater China.
The deal includes approximately $1.8 billion in cash and around $1.9 billion in Ares Class A common shares and is expected to close in the first half of 2025.
The acquisition will see Ares Real Estate double its assets under management (AUM) to $96 billion across North America, Europe, Asia and Latin America, the statement said.
Ares has secured bridge financing from Morgan Stanley Senior Funding and Citigroup Global Markets for the transaction, according to the statement.
The deal splits GCP into GCP International, to be merged with Ares, and GLP’s remaining business, which will continue to be independent and headquartered in Singapore with a focus on investing in Greater China. Ming Z. Mei will remain as CEO of GLP and GCP’s remaining business.
The company’s president Michael Steele and GCP’s leadership teams responsible for managing and operating the funds in Japan, Europe, the US, Brazil, and Vietnam will join Ares as part of the transaction.
“We are excited by the growth that our Greater China business can achieve at a time when opportunities in the region are in abundance,” Mei said.
GCP has an extensive line of business in China, including a series of RMB-denominated funds.
In January, the firm partnered with an unnamed global institutional investor to raise 10 billion yuan ($1.4 billion) for its China Income Fund XII. The news came shortly after two closes of separate predecessor funds— China Income Fund XI at 3 billion yuan ($425 million) and China Income Fund X for 4.3 billion yuan ($609 million).
