South African billionaire Nathan Kirsh has teamed up with the world’s largest self-storage company Public Storage in an attempt to privatise Abacus Storage King with a A$1.93 billion (US$1.15 billion) takeover bid.
Shares in the target company rose almost 14% on the news but did not reach the price of the offer, which is subject to a number of conditions.
Kirsch’s investment company Ki Corporation, which directly owns about 40% of Abacus Storage King, and Public Storage have offered $1.47 per stapled security, a 26.7% premium to the last price, less dividends or distributions declared subsequently to buy out the minority interests representing 40% of the outstanding stock.
Abacus Storage King (ASK) said Ki and Public Storage would each own about 50% of its securities following implementation of the indicative proposal, which is by way of a scheme of arrangement and a trust scheme.
According to its ASX announcement, the bid is subject to a number of conditions including, but not limited to:
- A unanimous recommendation from the Abacus Storage King Board
- Approval from the Boards of Ki and Public Storage after satisfactory due diligence, which is expected to take six weeks.
- Entry into the definitive transaction documents, and
- Regulatory and other approvals
Founded in 1998 as Storage King, the company was purchased in stages in 2018 and 2020 by Abacus Property Group, which spun it off into a separately listed entity in 2023 with Abacus retaining 20%, Ki owning 40% and the remaining shareholders 40%, so it could focus on the self-storage sector.
Ki also owns almost 50% of Abacus Property Group, giving it a direct and indirect interest in the target company of about 60%.
Abacus Storage King has more than 200 stores throughout Australia and New Zealand that serve more than 100,000 customers.
Established in 1972, Public Storage is the largest owner and operator of self-storage facilities globally, including more than 3,300 facilities in the United States that serve about two million customers.
At the time of publication Abacus Storage King (ASX: ASK) shares had risen 16 cents (13.79%) to $1.32, capitalising the company at $1.5 billion.
Public Storage (NYSE: PSA) shares closed on Friday at US$284.53, down $10.21 or 3.46%, giving it a market value of $49.91 billion (A$81.82 billion).
