[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Jeong-su] Daishin Asset Management, an asset management company affiliated with Daishin Financial Group, is forming a private equity fund to acquire an Amazon logistics center in Poland, Europe. They plan to operate it under a 20-year master lease agreement with Amazon.
According to the investment banking (IB) industry on the 11th, Daishin Asset Management is set to acquire an Amazon logistics center located in Poland through the private equity fund ‘Daishin Poland Specialized Private Investment Trust No. 1.’ It is reported that the online due diligence has recently been completed and the acquisition is in its final stage. The investment amount is known to be around 100 billion KRW in equity.
The logistics center being invested in this time is an Amazon fulfillment center located in ?wiebodzin, Poland, which is expected to be completed in August this year. ?wiebodzin is a small city in western Poland bordering Germany. It is adjacent to Germany, where labor costs are low (about 30% of Germany’s level) and logistics demand is high, and the area is considered a logistics hub due to its developed transportation infrastructure, including major national roads, ports, and airports nearby.
Although the logistics center is located in Poland, the main target of the logistics service is effectively Germany. Being in a border area, it is also known to cover logistics demand from the Czech Republic and Western Europe.
Once the construction of the logistics center is completed by the contractor, ‘Amazon Fulfillment Poland’ will operate it under a long-term master lease, and the operating profits will be distributed to the fund investors.
Fulfillment is a logistics service first introduced by Amazon, which handles the entire process from receiving ordered products into the warehouse, packaging, and shipping. In Korea, distribution companies have been adopting this service for faster delivery, starting with Coupang.
Daishin Asset Management plans to raise equity investment funds through securitization of beneficiary certificates. Its affiliated securities company, Daishin Securities, will acquire private equity fund beneficiary certificates through a special purpose company (SPC) and then issue short-term securitized bonds based on these assets.
A Daishin Asset Management official said, "Due to COVID-19, we could not conduct on-site inspections directly, so we carried out detailed online due diligence," adding, "Although the acquisition process is in its final stage, we plan to conduct due diligence again before the final acquisition."
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