Canadian self-storage operator StorageVault Canada Inc. has agreed to buy four self-storage facilities and a portable-storage business either owned or related to Access Self Storage Inc., one of its major shareholders, for nearly $48 million. The deal, which is expected to close by Sept. 30, includes one Access facility in Toronto and three properties in the Montreal market owned by Depotium Self Storage Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Access. It also includes 110 portable-storage containers owned by 1934255 Ontario Inc., a company of which Access is a major shareholder, according to a press release.
StorageVault announced in August it was pursuing $45 million in Access assets. Though the properties included in the deal appraised for $49.2 million, the parties agreed to keep the purchase price at $47,985,000. StorageVault will pay for the assets by issuing 7,954,545 common shares at an aggregate price of $7 million, with the remaining sum paid with cash and through mortgage financing, the release stated.
The deal was approved on Aug. 30 by an independent acquisition committee related to StorageVault but remains subject to approval by the operator’s board of directors and creditors as well as TSX Venture Exchange, the Toronto stock exchange. It’s also still subject to closing conditions, including due diligence and environmental site assessments.
StorageVault has been aggressively pursuing acquisitions in recent months. The company agreed to buy a facility in Calgary, Alberta, and another in Ottawa, Ontario, for $19 million in August. In July, it agreed to purchase another facility in Calgary for $22 million. The latter deal is expected to close by Oct. 7, the release stated.
StorageVault last year acquired Cubeit Portable Storage Canada Inc. and seven storage facilities from Access in a $51 million deal.
Access Storage operates about 75 self-storage facilities comprising more than 4 million square feet and more than 1,000 portable-storage containers. It owns facilities in Alberta, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, Ontario and Quebec, with its Quebec locations branded as Depotium Mini-Entrepot, according to the company website.
StorageVault operates several self-storage facilities and more than 3,200 portable-storage units in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Quebec and Saskatchewan.
