PUBLIC STORAGE GROWING; INDUSTRY LEADER TO PURCHASE RIVAL.Byline: Stephanie Baker-Said Bloomberg News Public Storage Inc. has agreed to buy Storage Trust Realty realty n. a short form of "real estate." (See: real estate) REALTY. An abstract of real, as distinguished from personalty. Realty relates to lands and tenements, rents or other hereditaments. Vide Real Property. for about $600 million in stock and assumed debt, strengthening the company's position as the largest developer of self-storage warehouses in the U.S. The Glendale-based real estate investment trust will assume $192 million in debt and exchange 0.86 shares of its common stock for each common share of Storage Trust, based in Columbia, Mo. The transaction must be approved by Storage Trust shareholders. The acquisition will solidify so·lid·i·fy v. so·lid·i·fied, so·lid·i·fy·ing, so·lid·i·fies v.tr. 1. To make solid, compact, or hard. 2. To make strong or united. v.intr. Public Storage's position as the largest self-storage developer in the country, giving it a market capitalization Market Capitalization A measure of a public company's size. Market capitalization is the total dollar value of all outstanding shares. It's calculated by multiplying the number of shares times the current market price. This term is often referred to as market cap. of $5 billion and expanding its holdings to almost 1,300 facilities in 37 states. ``Storage Trust has an extremely high quality portfolio of properties which fit strategically in our target markets,'' said B. Wayne Hughes Bradley Wayne Hughes (born September 28, 1933 in Gotebo, Oklahoma) is the billionaire founder and chairman of Public Storage, the largest self-storage company in America. Known all his life by his middle name, B. , Public Storage's chairman. Public Storage, which accumulated a 5.99 percent stake in Storage Trust, made an unsolicited un·so·lic·it·ed adj. Not looked for or requested; unsought: an unsolicited manuscript; unsolicited opinions. unsolicited Adjective offer to buy the company in August for $25 a share. Based on Public Storage's closing price of $26, Public Storage will pay about $22.25 a share. Public Storage fell 68.75 cents to $26. Storage Trust rose 12.5 cents to $21.875. ``We think it is a terrific price,'' said Evelyn Leon-Infurna, an analyst at BT Alex Brown Alex Brown may refer to:
Storage Trust initially rejected the offer and hired investment bank Merrill Lynch Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. (NYSE: MER TYO: 8675 ), through its subsidiaries and affiliates, provides capital markets services, investment banking and advisory services, wealth management, asset management, insurance, banking and related products and services on a global basis. & Co. in mid-August to explore its options. The company is No. 5 in the self-storage business, with 237 properties. ``After several months of exploring our strategic alternatives, we believe that this transaction is in the best interest of our shareholders,'' said Daniel C. Staton, Storage Trust's chairman. The highly profitable but fragmented self-storage industry is one of the fastest growing in the real estate market. Even before the acquisition, Public Storage was the industry leader with 1,089 storage facilities, triple the size of its nearest competitor, Amerco Inc., the parent of U-Haul International Inc. |
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