Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS — After announcing merger plans in April, Utah-based self-storage giant Extra Space Storage completed the largest business acquisition ever by a Utah company Thursday, merging with its rival, New York-based Life Storage, in an approximately $12-billion transaction.
The merger of two industry-leading platforms gives Extra Space Storage the title of the biggest self-storage operator by store count, adding over 1,200 new locations and bringing the new combined company store count to 3,500 properties across 43 states.
"We're growing our portfolio by 50% in one day. It's very exciting," Noah Springer, Extra Space Storage's chief strategy officer, said in a prepared statement. "We couldn't have done it without the hard work of our dedicated team. It's amazing what the team here in Salt Lake City combined with the new team members in Buffalo have been able to accomplish already. I am looking forward to seeing what we accomplish together moving forward."
Extra Space Storage employs over 7,500 people and expects "significant growth opportunities" following the addition of more stores. When the merger was announced in April, Joe Margolis, Extra Space Storage CEO, said he believes the merger will produce the "preeminent" storage company in the country.
Under the terms of the agreement, Life Storage shareholders will receive 0.8950 of an Extra Space share for each Life Storage share they own, representing a total consideration of approximately $145.82 per share, based on Extra Space's share price close on March 31.
Extra Space and Life Storage shareholders are expected to own approximately 65% and 35% of the combined company, respectively, Extra Space Storage said in an April press release announcing merger plans.
Even before acquiring Life Storage, Extra Space Storage was the largest publicly traded company in Utah by market cap. Now, it has cemented that space, with a new market cap of approximately $34 billion dollars.
The company has an enterprise value of approximately $46 billion and is the eighth-largest real estate investment trust company on the MSCI U.S. REIT Index — a free float-adjusted market capitalization-weighted index that is comprised of equity real estate investment trusts, according to a release from Extra Space Storage.
Through the transaction, Extra Space Storage will operate approximately 270 million square feet of rentable space, serving over 2 million customers and has plans to keep aggressively growing, according to the company.
"The future is bright for Extra Space Storage," Margolis said in a statement. "This is another great step in our growth history. This business combination creates a very strong company that will have outsized operational and external growth opportunities through scale efficiencies, enhanced diversification, greater data analytics, expanded industry relationship and more."
