Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, GIC, has made two exits recently – it partially exited India -based FMCG company Marico and completely exited from Australia’s GPT Group – with handsome returns in both cases.
GIC makes part-exit from Marico
GIC has made a part-exit from India’s FMCG company Marico, a report said. It had earlier exited Marico Kaya Enterprises, the demerged entity of Marico.
According to a report in local Indian media, GIC part-exited Marico, recently, through a secondary market transaction and got about $32 million from the sale. The fund is “estimated to have almost doubled its investment in two-and-a-half years, generating a gross internal rate of return (IRR) of around 31 per cent in local currency, not counting dividend earnings”, the report said.
GIC still has about 2.47 per cent equity stake in Marico that is valued a little under $100 million.
Marico’s brands include, Saffola, Hair & Care, Nihar, Livon, Set Wet, Zatak, Mediker, Revive, Parachute, HairCode, Fiancée, Caivil, Hercules, Black Chic, Code 10, Ingwe, X-Men, L’Ovite and Thuan Phat.
The VCCricle report further added that GIC had originally put in Rs 375 crore to buy 3.4 per cent in Marico Ltd in May 2012 through a preferential allotment, and that it had co-invested with Baring Private Equity Partners India, which had brought in Rs 125 crore separately to pick 1.1 per cent.
GIC has made several part exits in India off late including, financial services firm Edelweiss, Hero MotoCorp Ltd and Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone Ltd.
Also read: GIC part-exits India’s Edelweiss for $11m
GIC exits Australia’s GPT Group
Australia’s GPT Group last week said that it had raised $325 million from institutional investors after it had redeemed the GIC-held exchangeable securities.
GIC, through its investments, had bailed out GPT during the 2008 financial crisis
According to a report in The Australian Business Review, the deal had led to GIC reaping about $75 million from the note alone, and the fund had also received more than $100 million in interest payments over the last five years. The report also said that in May 2014, GIC sold its 8 per cent stake in GPT that was then valued at more than $500 million.
The move marked the end of an arrangement GPT struck in the depths of the global financial crisis, when it issued the securities in November 2008 with a face value of $250 million, another report in the same publication said.
Earlier this month, GIC has put five-star hotel it Australia, Westin Sydney on the market and it hopes to raise over $4000 million from the same. Last year, GIC had sold the Park Hyatt in Melbourne to Fu Wah International for $135 million.
Also Read: GIC puts Westin Sydney for sale
In an unrelated development, GIC and Australian private equity firm Ironbridge Capital are planning an initial public offering (IPO) of FleetPartners Ltd, in a deal that would value the car leasing company at about $615 million. The Singapore sovereign fund and Ironbridge Capital had led a consortium which, bought FleetPartners in September 2008, and the company was formerly the fleet leasing division of ANZ Banking Group Ltd.
Also read: GIC, Ironbridge mull IPO of FleetPartners
