By P.R. Venkat in Singapore and Kane Wu in Hong Kong

Global Logistic Properties Ltd., a backbone of the logistics industry in the U.S. and China, said it has narrowed down the bidders for a potential buyout.

Among those that have expressed interest in the $9.5 billion warehousing giant are private-equity firms Blackstone Group LP and Warburg Pincus LLC, people familiar with the process have said, as well as a management-led consortium. As is typical in a big buyout, GLP will now give those bidders chosen for the shortlist access to detailed information about business operations.

GLP didn't name the shortlisted bidders, saying in a statement to Singapore's stock exchange only that several parties that will be allowed to conduct due diligence.

The company's chief executive, Ming Mei is working with a consortium of China-focused investment firms Hillhouse Capital Group and Hopu Investment Management Co. Mr. Ming and GLP nonexecutive director Fang Fenglei, who runs Hopu Investment, will exclude themselves from board discussions of the bids.

Singapore sovereign-wealth fund GIC Pte. Ltd., GLP's biggest shareholder with a 37% stake, effectively put it up for sale in December when it asked the company to undergo a strategic review. GLP then hired J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. to seek out potential buyers.

GLP is one of the world's largest warehousing and distribution companies, growing in recent years through acquisitions such as an $8.1 billion purchase, with GIC, of U.S. industrial-property owner IndCor from Blackstone. Its China portfolio is valued at about $12.8 billion, including properties in Beijing and Shanghai. GLP funds its purchases with a mix of its own money and capital raised from outside investors.

Demand for sophisticated logistics operations has grown as e-commerce has expanded globally. GLP has targeted the U.S. and China, the two biggest online-shopping markets, for its expansion. It manages logistics assets valued at close to $40 billion across the U.S., China, Japan and Brazil.

More than one third of GIC's investments are in the U.S., including owns stakes in Citigroup Inc. and UBS Group AG. It oversees about $344 billion in assets, making it the world's eighth-largest sovereign fund, according to the Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute.

Write to P.R. Venkat at venkat.pr@wsj.com and Kane Wu at Kane.Wu@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 27, 2017 06:12 ET (11:12 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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