Abacus Storage King, which operates self-storage facilities in Australia and New Zealand, has received a A$1.93bn (€1.06bn) takeover bid from US-based Public Storage and Ki Corporation.

The pair submitted the non-binding indicative offer of A$1.47 per share after markets closed last week, aiming to acquire all outstanding stapled securities in Abacus Storage King that are not already owned by Ki or its subsidiaries.

Ki, an associate company of Eswatini billionaire Nathan Kirsch, currently holds a direct and indirect interest of approximately 59.39% in Abacus Storage King which owns around 126 operating properties, 21 development sites and 75 managed/licensed properties.

Following implementation of the indicative proposal, the listed Public Storage is expected to hold half of Abacus Storage King with Ki holding the balance of the securities.

Public Storage said the consortium was offering “certainty, liquidity, and an attractive premium to minority securities”. It added that, similar to its success with Shurgard Self Storage in Europe, Public Storage would share its expertise and wide-ranging competitive advantages to help enhance Abacus Storage King’s customer experience, operating performance, ancillary businesses, and portfolio growth.

Bradley Fried, chief executive officer of Ki Group, said: “As a significant and long-term securityholder, we have remained an active supporter and partner to Abacus Storage King and its success. However, the entity has continued to underperform relative to peers and the broader market since listing.

“Our consortium’s non-binding indicative offer represents a compelling 26.7% premium to Abacus Storage King’s closing price, providing securityholders with a meaningful opportunity to immediately crystallise value on implementation of our proposal, in turn creating a more viable path forward for the employers, customers and operation of Abacus Storage King,” Fried said.

Abacus – the manager of the business, which currently holds a 19.77% interest in the target company – first bought into Storage King in 2018 and subsequently spun off the business as Abacus Storage King in 2023.

An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that Nathan Kirsch was a South African billionaire. Kirsch is, in fact, from Eswatini, not South Africa.

To read the latest IPE Real Assets magazine click here.

Topics