New JV spends $1.8b on life science assets
Warburg Pincus and Lendlease have swooped on a $1.8 billion (S$1.6b) portfolio of Singapore life science buildings.
Speculated to include the Qualcomm Building and West Park Bizcentral, the deal is with Blackstone and Lim Chap Huat, executive chairman of Soilbuild, which outlaid S$700m in 2021.
All up, the assets contain c418,000 square metres.
The move comes as New York based Warburg boosts its Australian self storage portfolio via its backing of StorHub.
JV boosts portfolio
Lendlease agreed to sell a 50 per cent interest in its Asia Pacific life sciences platform to Warburg Pincus in May.
That cS$129m deal, also with Lendlease’s managed investment vehicle, LINO, was formalised in late July – creating the as-yet-unnamed JV which is buying the Blackstone/Lim portfolio (story continues below).
“This strategic [Blackstone/Lim] acquisition underscores our commitment to the rapidly expanding life sciences and R&D real estate market in Asia Pacific,” Lendlease Investment Management chief executive officer, Justin Gabbani, said.
“The platform is well positioned to capture opportunities in the sector,” according to the executive.
Warburg Pincus managing director, co-head of Asia Real Estate and Head of Japan, Takashi Murata, added “the portfolio gives us immediate scale in the tightly held Singapore market, cementing our position a one of the top industrial asset owners in Singapore and reiterating our conviction in the life sciences and R&D sector”.
Following settlement, the JV will manage assets worth cS$2b.
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