Sweden-based investment firm EQT AB has acquired a majority stake in Storable, an Austin-Texas-based supplier of varied products and services to the self-storage industry. Expected to close by June 30, the deal will enable Storable to leverage EQT’s “technology, business-optimization and digital-transformation expertise,” with an eye toward international growth, according to a press release. Cove Hill Partners, Storable’s private equity owner, will retain a minority stake in the company, which is valued at about $2 billion, according to Bloomberg.
Storable is comprised of Easy Storage Solutions, SiteLink and storEDGE, providers of facility-management software; SpareFoot, an online marketplace for self-storage units; SBOA Merchant Services, Select Merchant Solutions and SiteLink Merchant Services, providers of payment processing; and Bader and Storsmart, providers of self-storage tenant insurance. storEDGE also offers website-development and digital-marketing services.
The Storable management team, including CEO Chuck Gordon, will remain in place, and no operational changes are expected within the family of companies, the released stated.
“The entire Storable team is excited to partner with EQT to continue doing what we do best—helping our self-storage owners run better businesses with technology,” Gordon said. “EQT’s expertise will enable us to further enhance our existing products and launch new technology tools to help our storage clients increase their bottom line. Our clients should expect the same high standards of innovation, data privacy and support going forward.”
“EQT is excited to invest in Storable and looks forward to partnering with Chuck Gordon and the entire team toward becoming the leading self-storage technology company in the world, doing so in a sustainable and future-proofed manner,” said Arvindh Kumar, partner at EQT Partners, in a prepared statement. “The highly fragmented end-market for self-storage has experienced strong growth over the last several years and is undergoing significant digital transformation, for which EQT can provide global expertise. This investment demonstrates EQT’s strong interest in partnering with best-in-class technology companies supported by secular growth trends, exemplified by the self-storage industry.”
In the last few years, EQT has been actively investing in U.S. software companies, including analytics company Innovyze and cloud-based, business-software provider Acumatica. The firm has also invested U.S.-based telecommunications, fiber and data centers, Bloomberg reported.
“Storable is consistent with some of the software investments we’ve made in how it has a growing-end market that’s accelerating in terms of digital transformation,” Kumar told the source.
Cove Hill acquired a majority stake in SpareFoot in 2018, when the online marketplace acquired SiteLink. Founded in 2017, the Boston-based private-equity firm manages an inaugural fund of more than $1 billion.
EQT has more than €75 billion in raised capital and more than €46 billion in assets under management across 16 funds, which have portfolio companies in Asia-Pacific, Europe and North America. It has total sales of more than €27 billion and employs about 159,000 people, the released stated.
Sources:
EQT, EQT Private Equity Makes a Majority Investment in Storable, the Leading Software & Technology Provider to the Self-Storage Industry
Bloomberg, EQT Is in Talks For Stake in Storable at $2 Billion Value
