Qatar-backed consortium in play for Hong Kong’s ESR

• Move to take fund manager private
• Hong Kong-listed ESR halts trading
• Deal valued at more than $7bn

A consortium including Qatar Holding is planning to take Hong Kong-listed real estate fund manager ESR private, with the deal valued at more than $7 billion, according to Reuters. 

ESR stopped trading of its shares on Friday, “pending the release of an announcement in relation to inside information of the company”, it said in a stock exchange filing. 

The consortium includes Starwood Capital Group and Warburg Pincus, ESR’s top shareholder with a 14 percent stake. 

ESR said in May that it received a proposal to take the company private from a consortium led by Starwood Capital Group, Sixth Street Partners and SSW Partners. Warburg Pincus later became part of the consortium.

In October, ESR said Qatar Holding, which is owned by the sovereign wealth fund Qatar Investment Authority, joined the consortium, giving it a stake of around 40 percent in ESR.

Qatar Holding is a 3 percent shareholder in the company. 

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The consortium needs at least 75 percent of so-called disinterested shareholders (those not directly involved in the offer) to approve its proposal, and no more than 10 percent to vote against, according to Hong Kong delisting rules. 

ESR has about $154 billion in assets under management. It focuses on real estate including logistics and data centres. 

It operates in 28 markets, including Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore and South Korea.