Latham Advises ESR Cayman Limited on Its US$1.6 Billion Initial Public Offering
Latham & Watkins has advised ESR Cayman Limited on its global offering and listing of shares on the Main Board of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (SEHK). Dealings in the shares of ESR commenced on 1 November. Gross proceeds from the global offering were approximately US$1.6 billion.
Headquartered in Hong Kong, ESR is a leading logistics real estate platform with a network spanning across China, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Australia, and India.
Morgan Stanley Asia Limited, Deutsche Bank AG, Hong Kong Branch, Citigroup Global Markets Asia Limited, Credit Suisse (Hong Kong) Limited, and Goldman Sachs (Asia) L.L.C acted as Joint Global Coordinators in the offering. Deutsche Securities Asia Limited and CLSA Capital Markets Limited were Joint Sponsors.
Hong Kong partner Amy Beckingham commented: “We are delighted to have advised ESR on this transaction. The deal represents the second largest offering on the The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong to date this year and the largest Real Estate related offering for five years. As a Warburg Pincus portfolio company, this was also the largest financial sponsor backed IPO in Hong Kong this year.”
Cathy Yeung, Global Vice Chair of Latham & Watkins’ Capital Markets Practice and Chair of the firm’s Greater China Practice, added: “This landmark offering represents a significant milestone for ESR and underlines strong investor confidence in the region. We are proud to have played a part in yet another transformational Asian capital markets transaction.”
Latham worked closely with ESR’s in-house team led by Company General counsel Zoe Shou and Company secretary Richard Lee. The Latham team was co-led by Hong Kong corporate partner Amy Beckingham and capital markets partners Terris Tang and Benjamin Su, with partner Cathy Yeung, counsel Mandy Wong, and associates Kevin Chow, Alex Lai, Jonathan Leung, Nathan Ma, Edward Tang, Bonnie Tse, and Xueting Zhong. Advice was also provided on tax matters by New York partners Gregory Hannibal and Jiyeon Lee-Lim; on funds matters by Chicago partner Nabil Sabki, Chicago associate John Reinert, and London partner James McCrory; and on employment matters by New York partner Lori Goodman.
The deal marks the latest Warburg Pincus portfolio company exit on which the firm has advised, having previously represented Warburg Pincus-backed Vincom Retail on its high-profile IPO on the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange.