Etude Storage Partners Bids for Global Self Storage

Etude Storage Partners has made a third unsolicited offer to acquire Global Self Storage. The public proposal follows two similar, private bids that were rejected in February and April. Etude had raised the purchase price each time, now offering to pay $6.15 per share to acquire 100 percent of the outstanding shares of the company.

Etude Storage Partners is a partnership between Etude Capital and San Felipe Financing, launched earlier this year. The joint venture owns 1,700 facilities, totaling more than 1.8 million square feet of self storage space.

Global Self Storage is a self-administered and self-managed REIT which currently has 13 self storage properties in its portfolio. The company operates in markets such as Indiana, Illinois, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Oklahoma and South Carolina.

The offer comes at a time when the self storage sector is facing difficulties due to continuous negative street rate movement and macro-economic uncertainty.

Proposal details

ESP first made a proposal in February, at $5.52 per share in cash, which was then raised to $6.05 per share in April. The current offer represents a 47 percent premium over Monday’s closing price of $4.17 per share and a 45 percent premium over the 30-day volume-weighted average price of $4.24.

ESP’s current proposal involves a negotiated merger agreement. The company is ready to enter a confidentiality agreement and start the negotiation process. Olshan Frome Wolosky LLP serves as legal advisor.

Global Self Storage shares rose after the offer was made, as the stock jumped 40 percent to $5.85 in the first three hours of trading, according to MarketWatch. As a result of the disclosed offer, Global Self Storage released a separate statement, confirming that it had received the proposal and will review Etude’s unsolicited offer. The company also mentioned that no stockholder action is required at this time.