Warburg Pincus and MQ Logistics Establish Joint Venture – QUBE Industrial to Capture Logistics Real Estate Opportunities in South Korea Dec 19, 2023
- QUBE Industrial will invest in modern logistics warehouses and industrial real estate to capture the attractive growing market in South Korea’s new economy real estate sector
- QUBE Industrial is seeded with 4 institutional quality modern logistics warehouses located in prime sub-markets of Greater Seoul Area, with a total gross floor area (GFA) of more than 300,000 square meters
Seoul, December 19, 2023 – Warburg Pincus, one of the oldest private equity firms and a leading global growth investor, today announced that, through its Warburg Pincus Asia Real Estate Fund (“WPARE”), it will establish a logistics and industrial real estate joint venture - QUBE Industrial with MQ Logistics (“MQ”), one of South Korea’s leading domestic third-party logistics (3PL) operators and warehouse developers. QUBE Industrial will focus on investing in modern logistics warehouses and industrial real estate to capture the attractive opportunities in new economy real estate in South Korea.
Andrew Kim, Founder and Chairman of MQ, is a business veteran and first-generation warehouse developer in South Korea with a proven track record of developing multiple institutional quality warehouses in the past two decades, long before modern warehouses became a key real estate sector in South Korea. As the Chairman of QUBE Industrial, Mr. Kim will continue to utilize his deep network and actively source attractive deals for the venture. Additionally, James Lim, a seasoned finance professional and experienced platform builder, has been appointed as the CEO of QUBE Industrial.
Leveraging the deep sector expertise and market experience of both founding parties, QUBE Industrial aims to assemble a best-in-class logistics and industrial real estate portfolio in South Korea. The venture is seeded with 4 institutional quality modern logistics warehouses located in prime sub-markets of Greater Seoul Area, comprising a diverse mix of stabilized, under construction and development assets, with a total GFA of more than 300,000 square meters.
Warburg Pincus has been investing in Asia real estate companies and platforms for over 15 years. lt is one of the largest and most active investors in Asia real estate, with over US$8 billion invested in more than 70 real estate ventures, including some leading platforms that Warburg Pincus co-founded alongside best-in-class entrepreneurs such as ESR, Vincom Retail, BW Industrial, Princeton Digital Group, DNE, and StorHub. In Asia’s industrial real estate space, Warburg Pincus has been actively involved in building meaningful depth with close to 10 highly specialized ventures in the region over the past 15 years.
Li Fan, Managing Director at Warburg Pincus, said, “With several megatrends driving the continued demand for modern logistics warehouses from e-commerce and 3PL players, and attractive momentum as a result of supply and demand dynamics of institutional quality warehouses in key markets like Seoul and Busan, South Korea is rapidly becoming a meaningful market for both domestic and international institutional investors in industrial real estate. We are very excited to collaborate with Andrew, a seasoned business veteran, and the high-caliber management team to capture the tremendous opportunities in the years to come. We will leverage our in-depth expertise and extensive experience to support the venture going forward.”
As a leading 3PL operator and warehouse developer in South Korea, MQ manages a vertically integrated and self-funded warehouse development business and has had nearly 20 development projects over the past two decades with around US$2 billion of assets under management spanning more than 1.4 million square meters in prime sub-markets of Greater Seoul and Busan.
Andrew Kim, Founder and Chairman of MQ and QUBE Industrial, commented, “We are excited to partner with Warburg Pincus to build a leading logistics and industrial real estate portfolio in South Korea. As one of the most established institutional investors, Warburg Pincus has a proven track record of supporting multiple successful real estate businesses in Asia. With the highly experienced teams from both parties, we believe QUBE Industrial is well-positioned to meaningfully accelerate growth and meet the evolving needs of both high-quality tenants and institutional investors in South Korea.”
For more information about QUBE Industrial, please visit www.qubeindustrial.com.
About Warburg Pincus
Warburg Pincus LLC is a leading global growth investor. The firm has more than US$84 billion in assets under management. The firm’s active portfolio of more than 250 companies is highly diversified by stage, sector, and geography. Warburg Pincus is an experienced partner to management teams seeking to build durable companies with sustainable value. Since its founding in 1966, Warburg Pincus has invested more than US$113 billion in over 1,000 companies in more than 40 countries across its private equity, real estate, and capital solutions strategies.
Warburg Pincus has been investing in Asia real estate companies and platforms for over 15 years. lt is one of the largest and most active investors in Asia real estate, with over US$8 billion invested in more than 70 real estate ventures, including some leading platforms that Warburg Pincus co-founded alongside best-in-class entrepreneurs such as ESR, Vincom Retail, BW Industrial, Princeton Digital Group, DNE, and StorHub.
About MQ Logistics
MQ Logistics is a leading 3PL operator and warehouse developer in South Korea. The Company was founded in 2000 by Andrew Kim, a business veteran and first-generation warehouse developer in South Korea with a proven track record. MQ manages a vertically integrated and self-funded warehouse development business and has had nearly 20 development projects over the past two decades with around US$2 billion of assets under management spanning more than 1.4 million square meters in prime sub-markets of Greater Seoul and Busan.
The Company has an extensive network and track record in leasing warehouse space to a wide range of renowned global and domestic tenants and is among the largest 3PL service providers to P&G, Duracell, and other MNCs in South Korea.
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