Baker McKenzie has advised APG Asset Management N.V. ("APG"), the investment manager of the largest pension provider in the Netherlands, on its investment into ESR Group's open-ended Korea logistics core fund (the "Core Fund"), which exceeds USD 400 million.
The Core Fund is South Korea's first perpetual open-ended core fund, established by ESR Kendall Square ("ESRKS"), the Seoul-based subsidiary of APAC's leading real asset manager ESR Group Limited. The Core Fund grows out of the original joint venture between CPP Investments, APG and ESRKS in 2015, and is seeded with seven "best-in-class" warehouses in strategic prime locations, mainly in the Greater Seoul and Greater Busan areas.
As an open-ended vehicle, the Core Fund aims to acquire high-quality income producing stabilized assets, including those from an extensive pipeline of development assets managed by ESRKS, to deliver long-term returns for its investors.
The Baker McKenzie team included Funds Partner Jason Ng and Special Counsel Hayley Irons*, with support from Associates Lilian Wong and Mengshan Zhang*.
Commenting on the deal, Jason said: "We are very pleased to be able to assist our long-standing client APG on another important transaction, and it is particularly rewarding to see the incredible success of the original joint venture that we acted for APG on nearly ten years ago. The Core Fund marks another evolution in the relationship between APG, CPP Investments and ESRKS, and we are very pleased to be a part of it, and to continue to support our clients in jurisdictions across Asia-Pacific, including in the strong e-commerce market in South Korea."
Baker McKenzie has also advised APG on a number of significant transactions over the years, including acting for APG on their second joint venture with ESRKS in 2020, and representing APG in its joint venture with CapitaLand Investment to establish an Asia-focused self-storage platform, among many others.
*Registered Foreign Lawyer