Singapore’s GIC Completes US$1.3b Acquisition of Dutch Tech Park
THE NETHERLANDS – Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC has concluded the US$1.3 billion acquisition of High Tech Campus in Eindhoven, the Netherlands last Monday, according to a recent report from the Eindhovens Dagblad.
Citing the Dutch Authority for Consumer and Markets (ACM), the news outlet clarified that the mixed-use property was acquired by GIC and not by American investment firm Oaktree.
High Tech Campus’ Director Jan-Willem Neggers revealed that Oaktree is the manager of the mutual fund that now owns the asset, but the principal investor in that mutual fund is GIC.
Aside from that, Oaktree said it has great ambitions for Eindhoven’s High Tech Campus. “We can add 5,000 to the current 12,000 employees in due course. The campus must be the first choice for research and development-oriented companies that want to excel,” said the investment firm.
In an interview with Eindhovens Dagblad, Alderman Stijn Steenbakkers said the city of Eindhoven is “happy to discuss” with GIC about safeguarding the High Tech Campus’ ecosystem.
At present, GIC has ten offices, about 18,000 staff, and over €700 billion in investments across the globe. When the ACM gave its nod to the transaction, it looked at the sovereign wealth fund’s property interests in the Netherlands. In the end, it found out that GIC’s interest in the country is relatively limited.
For example, the Singapore government holds a 3 percent stake in Dutch property fund Euro Commercial Properties, mostly shopping malls. It also holds a stake in the CitizenM hotel chain, which operates hotels in Rotterdam, Schiphol, and Amsterdam.
