Two Foreign Institutional Investors Target US Industrial Assets

Two foreign institutional investors have gathered billions of dollars to target the US industrial market, according to two separate announcements that were made almost simultaneously. 

In one, global alternative investment firm Investcorp, in partnership with two sovereign wealth funds, announced the formation of a new venture to acquire industrial real estate assets in the US.

The other announcement was made by Mapletree Investments, which reported it has closed its third private fund for the year, Mapletree US Logistics Private Trust at $1.4 billion in total fund equity.

“Driven by shifts in consumer behaviour towards e-commerce and supportive macro fundamentals, the US logistics sector is poised for continued strong growth,” said Mapletree’s group CEO Hiew Yoon Khong in prepared remarks. 

Herb Myers, Investcorp’s co-head of real estate, North America, also cited e-commerce as a driver behind its investment decision. “The increasing pace of e-commerce adoption, especially throughout the pandemic, has demonstrated growing demand for last-mile logistics,” he said in prepared remarks. “This venture positions us well to expand our national industrial footprint in an asset class that we believe will continue to have strong fundamentals.”

Investcorp Acquires 89 Industrial Properties

In October, Investcorp announced its latest industrial acquisition of 89 industrial properties, which grew its US industrial real estate holdings to approximately $2.8 billion worth of assets. 

Since 1996, Investcorp has acquired approximately 1,040 properties for a total value of $22 billion. According to Real Capital Analytics, Investcorp is the third-largest cross-border buyer of US real estate, and fourth-largest cross-border seller over 2019 and 2020.

Investcorp has today a presence in 12 countries across the US, Europe, GCC and Asia, including India, China and Singapore. As of June 30, 2021, Investcorp Group had $37.6 billion in total AUM, including assets managed by third party managers, and employed approximately 430 people from 45 nationalities globally across its offices. 

Another Private Equity Fund for Mapletree 

This latest fund will be Mapletree’s 13th private equity fund and the 6th in a series of fully seeded funds which encompass Europe, US and Australia commercial, Europe and US logistics, as well as student accommodation in the United Kingdom and the US. 

The group now manages 355 logistics assets with an AUM of $6.9 billion, totaling 70 million square feet of NLA, placing it among the top 10 managers of logistics real estate in the US.

The new fund is fully invested with a total asset value of approximately US$3.3 billion and was, according to Mapletree, well received by both new and repeat investors comprising pension funds, insurance companies, investment companies, asset managers and family offices. 

Its portfolio comprises 155 logistics properties located across 19 states in the US.