Logistics tycoon John Lau is suing buyout fund EV Cornerstone, managed by private equity firm EmergeVest, plus MD Heath Zarin, pictured, over its portfolio company EV Cargo’s plans to operate in China.

A writ of summons was filed in Hong Kong’s high court on 19 June and outlined demands that Lau’s investment of $45.5m in EmergeVest Logistics Fund be returned including profits and proceeds.

In a statement, Lau, who is the founder of Cargo Services Group, said: “I was the anchor investor in Heath Zarin’s formation of EmergeVest in 2013.

“Without my help and financial backing, there would have been no EmergeVest today. My investment played a critical role in the creation of EmergeVest and subsequently EV Cargo Holdings, which operates in the industry that I have had a career in for the past 30 years.

“It does not make any commercial sense for me to continue with our investment in EV Cargo whose strategy is to compete with our business in China,” he added.

“I am prepared to pursue this legal path until my rights are vindicated. As the Chinese saying goes: ‘When you drink the water, remember the spring as the source of the water.’”

Earlier this year, EV Cargo expanded its office network in China with the opening of branches in Shanghai, Ningbo and Qingdao.

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