US investor TPG Angelo Gordon buys into $200m logistics portfolio

US investment giant TPG Angelo Gordon has struck a deal with listed Growthpoint Properties Australia to buy a majority stake in about $200m worth of industrial parks.

Industrial sales are attracting overseas capital into the market.

US investment giant TPG Angelo Gordon has pushed into the local property market by striking a deal with the listed Growthpoint Properties Australia under which it will take a majority stake in about $200m worth of industrial parks.

The deal is the latest in a run of big-ticket industrial sales which are bringing overseas capital into the market that’s attractive to investors even as rent growth slows down.

In the largest play, two Asian investors this month committed to take a slice of a $3.2bn prime logistics portfolio run by Asian powerhouse the ESR Group. Japan’s Hankyu Hanshin Properties Corp and a Malaysian fund will pour $536m into owning a slice of an 11-strong portfolio of warehouses.

Now, Growthpoint has unveiled the deal to form the Growthpoint Australia Logistics Partnership with the Nasdaq-listed American company, saying it had set up an industrial fund partnership with the global institutional capital partner.

TPG Angelo Gordon will acquire an 80 per cent interest in a portfolio of six existing Growthpoint industrial assets at book value – showing that investors are keen on the sector at a time when offices are trading at a discount.

CBRE agents Chris O’Brien and Stuart McCann brokered the deal.

Growthpoint reaped net sale proceeds of $181m and its gearing will drop back to 38.7 per cent. It will pay a special distribution of 2.1c per security

The portfolio includes properties in NSW, Victoria and Queensland. The NSW parks are 6-7 John Morphett Place, Erskine Park, and 81 Derby Street, Silverwater.

Growthpoint Properties Australia chief executive Ross Lees.

The Victorian assets are 6 Kingston Park Court, Knoxfield, and 19 Southern Court and 20 Southern Court, both of which are in Keysborough. The Queensland asset is 13 Business Street, Yatala.

The partnership will focus on growing in the logistics sector in Australia, which is on the rise even as some “big box” locations on the outskirts of major cities come under pressure from falling rents.

Growthpoint chief executive Ross Lees praised what will be the trust’s first such alliance.

“We are pleased to form this capital partnership alongside an aligned global institutional partner with extensive investment experience,” he said.

“This partnership supports Growthpoint’s strategy to grow its funds management business and capital partnerships, and is a testament to the strength of our industrial portfolio.”

Growthpoint has about $6bn of assets under management, and directly owns and manages 57 office and industrial properties valued at about $4.4bn. It manages another nine assets valued at $1.6bn for wholesale syndicates and institutional investors via its funds management business.

Growthpoint separately sold its $131.7m stake in rival group Dexus Industria REIT via a block trade using investment bank Jarden. The group exited at $2.75 per security, a 3.8 per cent discount to the last closing price.

Originally published as US investor TPG Angelo Gordon buys into $200m logistics portfolio